A couple of months ago, Red Bull made a lot of noise with a drone racing against Max Verstappen's Formula 1. Its speed was truly impressive... but it fell far short of the absolute record. Today that record belongs to Luke Bell and his father Mike, who designed the Peregreen, the second version of the drone with which they had already obtained a world record in September of last year. Its construction required several months of work, and the development of a few prototypes... which ended up in flames for different reasons.
Drones have advanced remarkably in recent years. At first, it was enough to see them fly, or get good performance from their batteries. Today they smash speed records, and the best part is that these are DIY developments, with a lot of exchange of ideas, spectacular failures, and great satisfaction at the end. That's how we arrive at Luke Bell's channel, who along with his father Mike designs high-speed drones. His latest monster is the Peregrine V2, and on April 21, it became the fastest drone in the world.
Peregreen and the challenge of building a drone that flies at 480 km/h
The Bell family has extensive experience, but that doesn't mean the project is simple. Quite the opposite: From creating a carbon fiber chassis to finding appropriate batteries, Peregreen V2 offered resistance at every step. The batteries represent one of the most delicate points, and they burned out in the first two tests due to the chilling level of stress and temperature (above 130 degrees Celsius). The second battery replacement stabilized at more acceptable temperatures (80C), but the problem passed to the motor cables, too thin for this application.
The aerodynamic tests were simple but effective, and allowed them to reach a very stable tail design. Unfortunately, the first test with the assembled drone ended in flames. Its reconstruction took several days, and on the second flight... fire again. At this point, anyone could say they rebuilt the drone's body from scratch, and for the subsequent optimization process they sought the help of Chris Rosser, one of the best drone specialists who publishes content on YouTube.
After some private speedruns, the Bells finally put the Peregreen V2 under the lens of Guinness. The maximum speed recorded by the drone was 510 kilometers per hour, but certification placed it a bit lower, at 480.23 km/h. That's 133 meters per second, a true luminous dart piercing the sky.
(Editor's note: I apologize for the delay, some technical problems on this side, and an internet provider that doesn't cooperate. I will return to regular programming as soon as possible.)
