Other mistake: As Dark Helmet says his line "Everybody knows that!", watch the crewman in white to Helmet's right. He starts to cover his crotch a beat too soon.
Spaceballs (1987)
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Directed by: Mel Brooks
Starring: Bill Pullman, John Candy, Rick Moranis, Mel Brooks, Daphne Zuniga, Joan Rivers, George Wyner
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More mistakes in Spaceballs
Computer: This ship will self-destruct in exactly ten seconds. Counting down. Ten, nine, eight, six.
President Skroob: Six? What happened to seven?
Computer: Just kidding.
Trivia: President Skroob's name is an anagram of Mel Brooks' last name.
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Answer: Its a reference to how the stars streak around the ships in "Star Wars". "Ludicrous speed" had to have a ludicrous color. It is also referencing 2001: A Space Odyssey, where this "tartan" effect occurs when Dave is in the pod towards the end of the film.
Grumpy Scot
Those answers are quite correct and possible, but how about this: Warp and weft are the two directions of yarn in weaving (of plaids and other things). It might be a very meta joke since plaid is at much higher level than warp. On the other hand, it's Mel Brooks. On the gripping hand, he was born in Brooklyn in the mid 20's and might have been exposed to the basics and vocabulary of the tailor at a young age.
Btw, it's also a clear reference to the sentence from Star Trek "They've gone to warp."