WHAT JUST HAPPENED? The drone speed record has just been broken again – albeit unofficially. Ben Biggs and Aidan Kelly have reclaimed the crown from a father and son team by pushing their drone to an incredible 453 mph, beating the previous official record by around 45 mph.
The Blackbird, built by the Drone Pro Hub duo, hit 730 km/h, or about 453.6 mph, during a downwind run on the second day of testing. Its return leg into heavy wind topped out at 640 km/h, giving the pair a two-way average of 685 km/h, or about 425.6 mph.
That is comfortably ahead of the 657.59 km/h (408.60 mph) Guinness World Record set by Luke and Mike Bell. The caveat is that Biggs and Kelly's attempt has not been certified by Guinness.
One of the biggest changes to Blackbird was its new set of handmade carbon fiber propellers. These replaced the APC 7x15 props used in earlier runs and feature a much higher pitch, though the exact number is being kept secret.
The blades also have a sawtooth leading edge, designed to keep airflow moving straight over the blade rather than spilling sideways and reducing efficiency. It's a little tweak, but at more than 400 mph, small aerodynamic gains make a huge difference.
