Boeing Built A Flying Star Wars X-Wing: Here’s Why
BY PAUL STADDEN SEPT. 16, 2025 6:05 PM EST
Paul Briden/YouTube
In December of 2019, Walt Disney World opened the Rise of the Resistance attraction at its then-new “Star Wars”: Galaxy’s Edge area. What better way to celebrate than by partnering with Boeing’s NeXt division to transform a pair of experimental garden shed-sized 20-by-17.5-foot drones into X-wings for the opening ceremonies? (Don’t worry — if you missed them, you can see the Boeing X-wings on display at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia.)
The Boeing CV2 Cargo Air Vehicle doesn’t operate the way an actual X-wing starfighter would, of course. In “Star Wars,” according to Wookiepedia, the T65B X-wing uses four 4j.4 fusial thrust engines. To power these engines, manufacturer Incom installs a Novaldex 04-Z cryogenic power generator and a set of cryogenic capacitors inside the S-foils. There also are four GBk-585 hyperdrive motivators for entering hyperspace. How else would you exceed the speed of light?
Boeing’s X-wing, conversely, is an experimental drone with X-wing body cladding. But the underlying electrical vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft is still cool as far as real-world technology goes, with its six pairs of stacked propellers (12 total) providing redundancy in case one motor fails, as well as enough thrust to carry 500 pounds. Boeing NeXt started prototyping in 2017 and wind tunnel testing in 2018, completing 150 test flights by the following year.
While the CV2’s future looked promosing, Boeing NeXt was shut down in 2020 after major financial hits because of Boeing’s 737 Max grounding headaches and the COVID-19 pandemic. Maybe if they’d settled for some plain cubicles instead of pouring cash into HOK-designed offices with “liquid metal” ceilings, glass-plate coffee tables suspended from propellor nose cones, and flying-saucer lighting, they could have saved a few bucks.
Disney somehow gets access to Boeing’s experimental drones (probably because money)
Michael Vi/Shutterstock
Point is, the CV2 eVTOL never entered production. According to Electric VTOL News, Boeing NeXt crafted “at least two” CV2s. This makes sense, since it crafted “at least two” X-wings. While Boeing’s goal was to make large deliveries and intra-factory complex materials handling fast and cheap, Disney had entertainment uses in mind. Right, why revolutionize delivery speeds and lower transportation costs when we can create temporary diversion at a theme park?
Actually, a little positive public relations might be a smart way to break through general apprehension and skepticism toward drones and shed some of their stigma. When regular drones fall from the sky during a light show, it’s scary. With drones the size of Volkswagens, it’s more terrifying, so they need all the PR help they can get.
Even though the recent “Star Wars” movies and shows have had a mixed reception, to put it mildly, it’s still exciting to see an X-wing fly overhead. However, Boeing’s CV2 never had a chance to succeed in the marketplace. Maybe it could have if Boeing had taken advantage of the CV2’s entertainment value before the 737 Max/pandemic problems. Thanks to Disney, the CV2 went from “obscure delivery tool” to “spaceship that brought childhood dreams to life.” But after Rise of the Resistance’s opening weekend, the parks never used them again. It feels like a missed opportunity to show how drones can be safe and useful.
Remote control, but only to a point
Seksan Mongkhonkhamsao/Getty Images
During those Rise of the Resistance flights, the CV2s were controlled by ground-based operators. But an Aviation Investigation Final Report from the National Transportation Safety Board details a June 21, 2019 “contingency landing” in Beeville, Texas in which a Boeing CV2 sustained “substantial damage.” It states, “The pilot does not control the flight path, speed or attitude of the aircraft in flight, all flights are preprogrammed. The only ability the pilot or ground control station operator has to affect the flight is through contingency management via the ‘abort to planned zone’ (APZ), ‘land now’ or ‘cut power’ (terminate the flight) commands.”
At first glance, it might seem like the CV2’s operators aren’t doing much more than babysitting, and a stray 1 or 0 in the drone’s code can lead to catastrophe. But testing in a vast, fenced-off airport helps programmers identify bugs, and in the case of that Texas CV2 crash, the drone experienced unexpected high winds that messed with its navigation system.
Still, it’s understandable when people have apprehension about autonomous drones. They act sort of like living things, but clearly aren’t alive. A study on whether drones can enter the uncanny valley — that is, a feeling of unease as a robot comes closer to being human-like — found that the more animal-like a drone appeared, the more unsettling people found it.. A good example would be if Universal Studios dressed Boston Dynamics robots as Toothless from “How to Train Your Dragon” and let them loose in its park. But that would be silly, right?
Oh, and scientists are developing robots that can change their own batteries. Does that put you at ease?
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QOTD
These Are The Car-Related Movie Mistakes That Really Bother You
BY BRAD BROWNELL MARCH 14, 2025 10:30 AM EST
Focus Features
Sometimes movies get things wrong about cars. Heck, the cars don’t even have to actually be present in the movie for it to be wrong. The 2013 film “Dallas Buyers Club” is a period piece set in 1985, so how did Matthew McConaughey’s Ron Woodroof get a Lamborghini Aventador poster to hang on his wall when that car wouldn’t be launched for nearly three decades? This is just one of many Hollywood automotive mistakes that our readers pointed out this week when we asked which car-related movie mistakes bothered them most. Maybe Hollywood should hire the staff and commentariat of Jalopnik.com to help them with their car questions, because we certainly know a lot more about automobiles, how they work, and continuity errors than anyone at a movie studio seems to. So without further ado, here are my favorite picks from your automotive movie pet peeves.
This is one of the most-answered questions I’ve ever asked, and there were way too many good ones to fit in this post, so go check out the comments section of the question post for all the suggestions missed. I promise, it’s worth it.
Flippin’ Aston Martins
In Casino Royale, after Vesper gets kidnapped and Bond chases after the villains in his Aston Martin DBS. He’s supposedly going fast enough that he catches some air on a hill but when he jerks the wheel to avoid running over Vesper the DBS somehow flips and rolls while executing a simple accident avoidance maneuver that’s not that dissimilar from what you might see on MotorWeek. All resulting in a barrel roll (admittedly quite spectacular and rivaled only by the minutes-long rollover scene in Talladega Nights.)
At the very worst that should have been a spinout and instead, an exotic car somehow failed the Moose Test. That scene, as a car guy, always bother me.
Suggested by LarriveeC05
Clean 911
The self healing Porsche 911 in Commando. The car goes on its side, but Arnold pushes it over and we see a damage free car on his departure…
Suggested by Mikeuptain
Fast and Furious wasn’t a documentary?
That whole first race in Fast n Furious where Brian was racing his Eclipse against Dom. After hitting the Nos, his tuning computer reads danger to Manifold…Ok like which manifold? intake, Exhaust? and then the floor in the passenger seat falls off, like what?
Suggested by Agon Targeryan
Downshifts at Daytona
Downshifting in a situation where they are supposedly already driving as fast as possible.
Also somewhat related – when the dubbed engine sound doesn’t match the vehicle. This happens way more often than you might expect.
Suggested by Stephen
Better burnouts
OK, you know what I absolutely hate more than anything else? When there’s tire marks on the road from the previous takes…. “OK, great burnout scene, but lets do it one more time in the exact same spot”. Whether it’s parallel stripes from a burnout or fun swirls from something more intense, it always kills the mood for me. Just pick a different location, dammit!
Suggested by Kumciho
Forever fuel
That movie fuel never degrades. You often see it in Zombie movies or other similar world-as-we-know-it-ended type movies. Someone comes upon a car that’s been sitting for years, they find a battery (if they even bother to address needing a battery), they hop in, start it up and away they go! That is just not how octane-based fuel works, let alone the sea of other issues that come with an engine that has sat for years, mice chewing wires and nesting in things, moisture-related damage, etc, etc.
Suggested by Dakiraun
NASCAR engine in an EV
Gotta go with the E-Tron in the avengers making V8 noises. It seems small, and is overdubbing cars incorrectly is a running hollywood theme but this is supposed to be Tony Stark’s super cool high tech expensive future car. Like it being an EV was the entire point they picked it and yet…vroom vroom.
Suggested by JaredOfLondon
Pull up like skrrrt
Squealing tires on dirt/gravel roads. Grinds my gears every time.
Suggested by Thomas Hajicek
What’s the payload capacity of a Ford Ranchero?
In Goldfinger, crushing a 5000lb Lincoln Continental (plus anonymous mobster and what apparently should’ve been another 2000lb of gold based on value), and placing the cube in the bed of a Ford Ranchero with an 800lb payload. Odd Job should’ve been driving one of the very first lowriders.
Suggested by Maymar
Dude, where’s most of my car?
Continuing to drive a car that has no source of fuel, among other issues. See:
Read More: https://www.jalopnik.com/1810735/car-movie-mistakes-reader-answers/
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