Custom drone makers hit 453mph to (unofficially) break the record for fastest drone on earth and hand-made sawtooth carbon fiber propellors made all the difference

Date:
Tue, 26 May 2026 16:36:25 +0000

Description:
Carbon fiber propeller blades have powered a custom drone to break a world speed record but it hasn't been officially recognised.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Though unofficial due to no pro observer, a new world speed record for drones has been hit The first run was
a disaster the drone lost contact and crashed Record is almost twice the speed of a Formula 1 car (730 km/h compared to 397 km/h The battle for the title of the fastest drone in existence has become unexpectedly thrilling
over the past year. The current officially recognized Guinness World Record was set by Luke Maximo Bell in December 2025, with his custom-built Peregreen V4 hitting 658 km/h. However, this was unofficially broken by Australian duo Ben Biggs and Aidan Kelly of Drone Pro Hub in February 2026 when they hit 690 km/h, and now has been broken again with a staggering top flight speed of 730 km/h.

The reason this record is unofficial is because the pair didn't have a professional observer present to ratify the attempt. However, you can see in the video below the attempts made to break the record, the last of which is successful. The record-smashing drone is called the 'Blackbird', a scratch-built device made by Biggs, an engineer it's quite a different beast to the consumer camera drones we usually review. Watch the video below. It's worth reiterating that the pair are Australian, and there is an amount of colorful language. Latest Videos From You may like World-record RC car
builder is chasing a "slightly ridiculous" 250mph target with his next 3D-printed vehicle Who needs a DJI? This ultimate DIY drone hits 67mph and costs just $155 Massive autonomous cargo drone completes 75-mile mountain delivery of fresh tea The Fastest Drone Ever Flown (And It Almost Didn't Survive) - YouTube Watch On The first attempt to re-break the record is an unmitigated disaster the pair reach 630 km/h, but lose video contact with
the drone. Their theory is that this is caused by some combination of a blind spot in the drone's antennae, a Doppler shift compromising the video link,
and an overloaded signal as the drone passed the pilot at close range (though there's a spirited debate currently going on in the video comments). But whatever the cause, the result was the same: a wrecked Blackbird.

Fortunately, the pair had another prototype ready to go, and the next round
of testing smashed the record. The Blackbird achieved a verified average
speed of 685 km/h (426 mph), with a peak downwind speed of 730 km/h (453
mph). This was confirmed by GPS and by on-camera telemetry. How the Blackbird was pushed even faster According to Biggs, the key to making the Blackbird faster than ever before came from a set of updated custom carbon fiber propeller blades. These blades were hand-made by friends of the channel, and were built with a sawtooth leading edge, which generates vortices that keep the air moving towards the back of the blade rather than sliding off the
side, increasing efficiency. The blades are also angled more towards the direction of flight, again improving efficiency by minimally disrupting airflow as Tom's Hardware explains .

The trade-off is that this design provides a lot less power at low speeds, meaning that functions like take-off and landing can be extremely power-intensive. Well, to be fair, the entire operation is extremely power-intensive at its peak, the Blackbird produced a power draw of 400 amps for 10 seconds. When it came down following its successful flight, its batteries were smoking and its wires melted. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

Fortunately, the drone was not permanently damaged, and we have a feeling it won't be long before Biggs and Kelly are back with an official observer in
tow to officially reclaim their Guinness World Record. And beyond that who knows? We now officially have a drone capable of travelling at more than 700 km/h. Could 800 km/h be on the horizon?

While the Blackbird is not commercially available, Pro Drone Hub are planning to distribute the blueprints in order to allow people to 3D print the components for themselves you can sign up at their website to be notified when the release is made official. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. The best drones Top flying camera picks, for all budgets

Read our full best drones guide 1. Best overall DJI Mini 5 Pro 2. Best
budget DJI Mini 4K 3. Best professional DJI Mavic 4 Pro 4. Best for selfies HoverAir X1 Pro



======================================================================
Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/cameras/drones/custom-drone-makers-hit-453mph-to-uno fficially-break-the-record-for-fastest-drone-on-earth-and-hand-made-sawtooth-c arbon-fiber-propellors-made-all-the-difference


--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 (Linux/64)
* Origin: tqwNet Technology News (1337:1/100)