X-Wing Pilot Motorcycle Jacket

xwing pilot motorcycle jacket 3

Cosplay doesn’t have to be about full costumes. The concept can be adapted into more everyday purposes. For example, Replica Props Forum (RPF) user SilentNumsy, a.k.a. Charlie McNeil, made a motorcycle jacket that looks like a Star Wars X-wing pilot’s flight jacket. He spent about two weeks on the project and designed the wearable to include elements from a MA-1 bomber jacket, a Carhartt jacket, and the X-wing flight jacket. X-wing pilot outfits are conveniently bright orange – perfect for visibility.

xwing pilot motorcycle jacket 2

McNeil studied reference photos and made patterns on tracing paper based on his size 40 Carhartt jacket and pictures of Luke Skywalker wearing the X-wing flight jacket in The Empire Strikes Back. McNeil explains some of the steps:

I first made a prototype out of some light weight white fabric I had on hand. This took me about a week during Thanksgiving time.

Skipping ahead to heavy weight canvas fabric for outer layer with layers of felt quilted together with a soft inner lining. I want my jacket to keep me warm.

He left plenty of room so he could reach his motorcycles’ handlebars comfortably and built in several pockets. He used Scotchgard on the outside of the jacket to protect the fabric from moisture and bugs.

xwing pilot motorcycle jacket 4

Finally, he added his own take on the white vest to the jacket. He increased visibility by adding reflective tape to that part of the design.

See more pictures at The RPF.


Adafruit publishes a wide range of writing and video content, including interviews and reporting on the maker market and the wider technology world. Our standards page is intended as a guide to best practices that Adafruit uses, as well as an outline of the ethical standards Adafruit aspires to. While Adafruit is not an independent journalistic institution, Adafruit strives to be a fair, informative, and positive voice within the community – check it out here: adafruit.com/editorialstandards

Join Adafruit on Mastodon

Adafruit is on Mastodon, join in! adafruit.com/mastodon

Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.

Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.

Join us every Wednesday night at 8pm ET for Ask an Engineer!

Join over 36,000+ makers on Adafruit’s Discord channels and be part of the community! http://adafru.it/discord

CircuitPython – The easiest way to program microcontrollers – CircuitPython.org


Maker Business — “Packaging” chips in the US

Wearables — Enclosures help fight body humidity in costumes

Electronics — Transformers: More than meets the eye!

Python for Microcontrollers — Python on Microcontrollers Newsletter: Silicon Labs introduces CircuitPython support, and more! #CircuitPython #Python #micropython @ThePSF @Raspberry_Pi

Adafruit IoT Monthly — Guardian Robot, Weather-wise Umbrella Stand, and more!

Microsoft MakeCode — MakeCode Thank You!

EYE on NPI — Maxim’s Himalaya uSLIC Step-Down Power Module #EyeOnNPI @maximintegrated @digikey

New Products – Adafruit Industries – Makers, hackers, artists, designers and engineers! — #NewProds 7/19/23 Feat. Adafruit Matrix Portal S3 CircuitPython Powered Internet Display!

Get the only spam-free daily newsletter about wearables, running a "maker business", electronic tips and more! Subscribe at AdafruitDaily.com !



1 Comment

  1. Don Rideaux - Crenshaw

    Very cool idea, especially the added visibility. Take it to the next level by making the underlying jacket out of something that will project the rider in a fall.

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.