Got to Go Fast: The Rise of Super-Fast FPV Drones [Hackaday]

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Generally when one considers quadcopter drones, the term ‘fast’ doesn’t come to mind, but with the rise of FPV  (First Person View) drones, they have increasingly been designed to go as fast as possible. This can be for competitive reasons, to dodge enemy fire on a battlefield, or in the case of [Luke Maximo Bell] to break the world speed record. Over the course of months he set out to design the fastest FPV drone, involving multiple prototypes, many test runs and one failed official speed run.

The basic design of these designed-for-speed FPV drones is more reminiscent of a rocket than a quadcopter, with the upside-down propellers  requiring the operator first lifting the drone into the air from an elevated position. After this the drone transitions into a level flight profile by rotating with the propellers pointing to the back. This gives the maximum thrust, while the body provides lift.

Although this seems simple, flying this type of drone is very hard, as it’s hard to tell what is happening, even when landing. [Luke] ended up installing a camera in the nose which can rotate to provide him with different angles. Tweaking the flight computer to deal with the control issues that occur at speeds above 300 km/h.

Yet in September of 2023 he managed to pull off four solid passes, reaching an average speed of 397 km/h (214 nm/h) and a top speed of 401 km/h. Although still to be confirmed by Guinness World Records, it’s a major achievement, even if it didn’t get as much attention as a recent FPV drone shown off by Red Bull when it raced against a Formula 1 car at a paltry 350 km/h. The Red Bull drone by the [Dutch Drone Gods] was designed to handle following the F1 car even around corners, not just straight laps, but considering the resources that [Luke] had at his disposal versus the Red Bull team, it seems fair to say that he did a marvelous job, and we’re awaiting the outcome of the Guinness submission with bated breath.

Thanks to [Keith Olsen] for the tip.