Today we go into battle with the all new Propel Star Wars Speeder Bike Battling Quadcopter Drone. This fun new drone is just one of 3 Propel drones released to commemorate the upcoming Star Wars film, Episode VIII: The Last Jedi, and it’s one of the most unique drones I have personally ever seen. We’ll get into all the details of this awesome speeder bike drone below, but if you’re interested in checking out the other 2 drones in the series, Best Buy Canada has them both currently available. There’s the Propel Star Wars X-Wing Battling Quadcopter Drone and the Propel Star Wars TIE Fighter Advanced Battling Quadcopter Drone, and they’re all very similar in function and capabilities to the speeder bike drone covered here. Read on for the full details of this cool new drone.
Propel Speeder Bike Drone Key Details and Specs
The Propel Speeder Bike Drone is a hobby grade drone that’s packed to the gills with very cool features. It’s got LED lights and authentic Star Wars sound effects (music and film dialogue actually comes from the remote) and has 3 different speed settings, with a top flight speed of over 56 Km/h (that’s 35 mph). The different speed settings include a beginner mode that allows you to set a maximum altitude ceiling of roughly 2 metres (6 feet) and a similar system that prevents the drone from hitting the ground. These systems, particularly when you consider that there are also auto take off and auto landing features, make it extremely easy to fly the speeder bike without incident.
Other cool features of the Propel Speeder Bike Drone include the ability to do difficult stunts (like a sidewinder barrel roll) at the simple touch of a button, roughly 8 minutes of flying time on each of its 2 (yes, 2!!) included batteries, a removable propeller safety guard system for new and inexperienced pilots, a whole heap of useful accessories (including an extra rider and enough props to fully outfit the drone three times over), and the ability to play a super cool game that’s a lot like laser tag. This fun game can be played with up to 12 Propel Star Wars quadcopters at once (each sold separately) and uses the bike’s working battle cannons to laser blast your enemies. Very neat idea!
Propel Super Packaging
Another absolutely incredible aspect of the Propel Speeder Bike Drone is its super cool packaging. Normally I wouldn’t give a product’s packaging its own entire section in the review, but in this case I think it’s a must. This packaging not only has a beautifully designed display stand built right into it, but when you initially lift the cardboard box top off the base, Star Wars music and movie clip soundbites begin to play as the entire display area lights up to reveal an incredible view of the drone. The drone itself sits prominently on display as if it were on a pedestal. It’s a really great effect that goes way above and beyond the call of duty in terms of packaging requirements. In fact, the packaging even has its own built in power system that allows you to recharge an internal battery when the lights and sounds need more power. This system uses the very same charging cord that the drone itself uses. How cool is that?
Flying Fun with the Propel Speeder Bike
My experience testing the Propel Speeder Drone was fun and easy. I took it to a local park with a background that I thought looked a lot like Endor (the moon where the speeder bike chase scene in Return of the Jedi took place), and flew it without difficulty for at least 15 minutes. Each battery gave me a good amount of flying time, and I never once had to climb a tree to rescue the drone. It’s super easy to control this thing with its hobby grade controller (shown at right), and it pretty much always does exactly what you ask. Even when I did have rough landings or flew it into a huge stump, the drone always came out smelling like roses (as in, it never ever broke a single prop or even knocked the rider off the bike). A couple of times a prop would come off its post, but it easily snapped right back on every single time. The real problem was finding them on the ground, as they’re made of clear plastic and tend to be practically invisible. But this only serves to add more realism to the speeder bike flying experience, because once the blades start spinning, you can no longer see them. This makes the drone look a lot more like the actual speeder bikes from the film (ROTJ), and that is very cool!
All up I really had a lot of fun testing the Speeder Bike Drone and only wish I had someone else with another drone from this series to play the dogfight battle game against. That would have really taken the experience over the top. By the way, the controller for this drone requires 4AA batteries, and it even has its own built-in screwdriver for removing and replacing the battery hatch cover. And, for those so inclined, there’s a special app that you can download for free to use with your drone. It allows you to do fun battle simulations that really take your Propel experience to the next level, and a built-in extension in the controller holds your smart phone for you so you can view the screen as you fly. Honestly though, the app is not really needed. You can have heaps of fun just flying this drone in your back yard. I personally had a blast with it!
Examining the Video Evidence
Please take a few minutes to watch my video review at the top of this article. In it you’ll see up close footage of the amazing Propel packaging, tight shots of the speeder bike itself (and its rider), and some forest based flight footage. In fact, I searched out a location that looked as close as possible to the forest on Endor where the classic speeder bike scene from Return of the Jedi takes place. I think it turned out pretty good.
Final Thoughts
The Propel Speeder Bike Drone is not only one of the most impressive hobby drones in terms of its packaging and specs that I’ve ever had the pleasure of testing, but it’s also one of the most fun drones I’ve ever been able to fly. This is definitely the type of drone I would want to own myself. Being a huge Star Wars fan, I just love how well its speeder bike theme turned out. Propel did a very nice job on this drone, and I definitely suspect that the others in the series are just as impressive. Among the nicest touches that Propel added is the fact that the drone is hand painted with fussy collectors in mind. In fact, everything about this drone just screams collector’s item, right down to its incredible display packaging. I’ll leave it to you to decide whether this item appeals more to the Star Wars fan or to the drone flying enthusiast. In any case, it’s extremely difficult to find anything to complain about with this minor masterpiece. Highly recommended!
Gallery of Additional Photos
You had me at built in screwdriver! I think someone in my house is getting this drone for Christmas.
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