Ludicrous Speed

The plaid tunnel Ludicrous Speed causes.

"Prepare ship for Light Speed!"
"No no no Light Speed's too slow!"
"Light Speed too slow?"
"We're gonna have to go right to- Ludicrous Speed!"

―Dark Helmet and Colonel Sandurz preparing to pursue Lone Starr.

Ludicrous Speed was a hyperspace speed considerably faster than lightspeed. While a ship was moving at Ludicrous Speed, a plaid-patterned tunnel straight through space itself would be visible to all bystanders. Ludicrous Speed was both an extremely powerful hyperdrive mechanism and a considerable threat to the health of anyone not buckled down during acceleration.

History

Dark Helmet orders Spaceball I to enter Ludicrous Speed

Dark Helmet, drastically overestimating the capacity of Lone Starr's "hyperactive" mode, ordered the crew of the Spaceball I to drive at Ludicrous Speed to catch the Eagle 5, prompting Colonel Sandurz to wonder if the ship could handle it. Helmet hastily confirmed his directive and Sandurz relayed the instructions to the rest of the Spaceball I. After performing a variety of preparations, the ship made its way to Ludicrous Speed.

As Spaceball I passed overhead, Lone Starr and Barf ducked down in the cabin of the Eagle 5. The two exchanged glances, with an incredulous Barf dropping remarking, "They've gone to plaid!" after seeing the tunnel left by the Spaceball I. In the ship, Dark Helmet hung on for dear life, feeling as though his brains were going into his feet. Sandurz was strapped down beside the console, eyeing a lever marked "EMERGENCY STOP / DO NOT USE". After a while, he pulled it, suddenly slowing the ship down to normal speed and sending Helmet (now caught in the cruel grip of inertia) sailing headfirst into the technology at the front of the Spaceball I's bridge, shorting a circuit. After suggesting they take a break, Helmet commented, "Smoke if you got 'em." and fell face-first onto the floor.

Trivia

• The precise value of Ludicrous Speed is commonly accepted as being anywhere from 65 to 1,380 times the speed of light. If you go by the DVD special feature where you can watch the film in Ludicrous Speed, you would get a figure of approximately 288.4 times the speed of light.