Skip to main content

Actual flight makes the Lego Apollo 11 lander set even better

Actual flight makes the Lego Apollo 11 lander set even better

/

‘The Eagle has landed’

Share this story

If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.

Lego’s official Apollo 11 anniversary set is pretty slick already, but aerospace engineer Adam Woodworth has made it even cooler by adding a set of propellers so that the lunar lander can actually fly, as spotted by Gizmodo.

Woodworth detailed the build in an Imgur gallery, and it’s seriously impressive. He hollowed out the inside of the set to make room for a battery and flight controller. (The battery is hidden inside the ascent stage half of the set, while the electronics are in the base). He also added the four T-Motor F40 spinning 4-inch propellors that allow it to actually fly. The motors are staggered to overlap so that Woodworth could actually get enough thrust from the set. He notes that the model is pretty heavy for its size, which made it difficult to design.

For the most part, Woodworth doesn’t resort to glue or other fasteners to hold the flying Lego craft together; he just uses the Lego brick’s connective powers. The one exception is the screws holding the motors to the plates, which makes sense given how much force they’re under.

Photo by Adam Woodworth

The finished model can only fly for 90-second increments, which may not sound like a lot, but it should be just enough time to reenact the lunar landing as Woodworth does in the video. Woodworth isn’t planning to stop here, either: he’s already working on a functional ascent stage modification.