4.4-pound DIY drone hits 454 mph, breaking world speed record

Nearly four months after breaking the record for the world's fastest RC battery-powered drone, DIY engineer and tech enthusiast Benjamin Biggs (Ben Biggs) is back with a blast, breaking his own record.

For those who have not been following the situation, Ben Biggs and the Bells have been going back and forth for a while, breaking each other's records. But since Ben last took back the crown in January, the Bells have come up with no response (though they admitted they are currently working on it); now Ben has gone ahead to extend the record with a blistering 685 km/h (425.6 mph) average top speed.

To achieve this feat, Ben increased the pitch of his propellers and also switched to carbon fiber propellers. He also upgraded his propellers with a toothed design, which he says helps ensure the air flows straight past, instead of wrapping around the propellers in spin-wise directions.

The flight tests went relatively smoothly, with him losing one drone due to a loss in video feedback. With a second drone, however, he was able to hit 730 km/h (453.6 mph) going downwind on a windy day; for the upwind run, he managed 640 km/h (397.7 mph). Because of the windy weather, he pushed the drone for longer at full throttle, which led to the batteries dying out and smoking after the drone crash-landed.

During the runs, the 2-kilogram drone hit a peak power draw of 19.1 kW (25.6 horsepower) at 449 A and 42.5 V. Ben now plans to break the official Guinness World Record with his new drone.