Too pricey at $180. Too good to pass up at $40.  

Propel's Star Wars drones are flippin' awesome. I own one and I've had the chance to dogfight with a friend who owns one. Pure geeky fun, let me tell you.

They started out at $180 and have seen some pretty good sales this year -- but rarely this good: For a limited time, ZDNet Academy has the Propel Star Wars TIE Advanced Quadcopter for $40 with code CNETSTARWARS20. You can also use that code for the Speeder Bike. (Alas, the X-Wing is currently sold out.)

Don't confuse these with the harder-to-pilot Star Wars drones from Air Hogs. Propel's fliers can autohover, making them much easier to master. They also have three speed settings and can do midair flips.

Propel supplies two batteries, so you can get 12 to 16 minutes of total flight time instead of just 6 to 8. (f you want more batteries, extras run about $10 apiece from Propel. Not bad!

The controller is large and easy to hold, though maybe a little too large for extra-small hands -- I'd recommend this for ages 10 and up. It plays Star Wars music and sound effects. It has so many controls and options, though, you'll probably need frequent visits to the instruction manual.

I don't know how much longer these will last at this price, so if you're even slightly interested, I'd jump at this. I'd also highly recommend getting at least two, because dogfighting with these is just crazy-fun. Pew-pew!

Originally published on Nov. 21, 2018.Update, March 11, 2019: Changes to deal availability.

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