In December 2019, during the opening of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, Boeing and Disney unveiled a remarkable creation: a flying X-wing starfighter.
This impressive vehicle, with a wingspan of 20.2 feet and a length of over 24 feet, was built on Boeing’s Cargo Air Vehicle (CAV) platform.
The CAV is an all-electric, uncrewed aircraft designed to carry up to 500 pounds of cargo, serving as a testbed for advancements in batteries, electric propulsion, and autonomous flight.
For the event, Boeing partnered with Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development to mount X-wing body shells onto two CAVs.
These X-wing-outfitted CAVs flew over the park, illuminated by ultraviolet spotlights that made only the X-wing frames visible to the crowd.
In May 2024, one of these X-wing CAVs was donated to the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum by Boeing and Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development.
It is now on display at the museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia, as part of their vertical flight collection.
Specifications of Boeing’s Real-Life X-Wing
- Wingspan (with X-Wing costume): 6.2 m (20 ft 2 in)
- Length: 7.4 m (24 ft 3 in)
- Height: 2.7 m (8 ft 11 in)
- Maximum Takeoff Weight: 500 kg (1,100 lbs)
- Top Speed: 120 km/h (75 mph)
- Manufacturer: Boeing, 2018
Scott Trowbridge, a senior creative executive at Walt Disney Imagineering, summed it up perfectly: “Our work to bring a ‘real’ X-wing to the skies above Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge… was not only spectacular but a moment representative of the immersive Star Wars experience coming to life.”
If you want to see this incredible piece of Star Wars-inspired tech with your own eyes, you’re in luck! The X-Wing CAV is proudly displayed at the Smithsonian’s Steven F.
Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia, just near Washington Dulles International Airport.
The museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (closed on December 25)