A drone designed by a father and son duo from South Africa, Mike and Luke Bell, has set a world record after flying at 300 mph. The record attempt was made on April 21, but according to the men behind the effort, the project had been in the works for months.
After much deliberation, the project was 3D printed and the drone was assembled with all its components. But during the maiden flight, the drone caught fire. The team reassembled all the pieces and tried again, but this attempt also resulted in flames.
The drone, dubbed Peregrine 2, was having difficulty handling the current flowing through its systems, causing temperatures to rise to 130 degrees Celsius. The motor wires started to burn and the drone collapsed.
A complete overhaul of the design, using thicker wires for the motors, took months, and finally the pair had a drone that didn't catch fire. But it was nowhere near the speed record.
The Bells continued to improve the Peregrine 2. After months of hard work and engineering efforts, they were finally ready to fly their drone in an attempt to beat the record. This needed to be done in front of several independent witnesses. Most importantly, the attempt consisted of two 100-meter sprints in opposite directions.
The attempt included four runs, Petapixel said in its report. Peregrine 2 recorded a speed of 480.23 km per hour and set a world record. With the small camera on board, the Peregrine 2 also became the fastest camera drone in the world, easily flying above 400 km per hour.
Sapo.pt
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