Peregrine 2 drone sets new speed record at an insane 298mph
May 10, 2024
John Aldred
John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
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Last year, Ryan Lademann broke the world record for the fastest drone with a top speed of 257.25mph and an average speed of 224mph. We’ve also seen a drone with similar speeds to film Formula 1 cars.
Now, those speeds have been absolutely smashed by Luke Maximo Bell with a 298mph drone. It’s an incredible feat of engineering – and patience – that’s taken a lot of trial and error to figure out, as detailed in Luke’s video below. Many lesser men would have given up!
Prepare ship for ludicrous speed!
In 2017, the world speed record for a drone was a very impressive 163.5mph. It held until last year when it was beaten by the XLR V3, clocking in an average speed of 224mph and a top speed of 257.25. Those speeds look positively laughable now compared to Luke’s insane 298mph.
The video above, showing the development of the drone, is fascinating to watch. Luke faced many challenges during its creation, from batteries with manufacturer defects to wires that were too thin to handle the current.
And, of course, there’s the aerodynamics to consider. It’s not as simple as just creating something that looks cool. Not if you want to pummel the existing record into the ground. But there are no fancy wind tunnels and computer simulations here. Just a drone on a stick held out of a car window.
Luke had to wait a while for Guinness to verify the record. He made four flights with Peregrine 2, and the average of the two best – flying in opposite directions to negate any wind advantage – was 298.47mph (480.23km/h).
I wonder who’ll be first to top 300mph!
[via PetaPixel]
John Aldred
John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
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