u wing

The U-Wing is a troop transport/gunship used by the Rebel Alliance.  Its main role is transporting small squads of ground troops into battle and then providing air support from side mounted door cannons.  The ship is armed with 2 forward facing laser cannons for defense.  Most prominent feature on the craft are the two long S-Foils. These are extended for interstellar flight to help dissipate the heat generated by its 4 large engines and extend the deflector shield coverage.  However the S-Foils aren’t well suited for atmospheric flight. Since they tend to create oscillations throughout the ship they’re usually retracted for planetary operations. 

I think this is a fun little model. When I was designing it I wanted the S-Foils (wings) to be able to go back and forth from landing to flight configurations. I spent a lot of time trying to accomplish this with a square piece of paper, only to end up with really clunky wings. Since the U-Wing is defined by its long slender wings, this was unacceptable. One day I decided to start with an equilateral triangle. Presto! Slender wings and retractable S-Foils.

If you would like to try your hand at making a U WIng, Down load the paper HERE and then visit my YouTube CHANNEL for a step by step tutorial.