Australian aerospace engineer Benjamin Biggs has simply clocked 411 mph (661 km/h) with a battery-powered, remote-controlled drone. No official Guinness stamp but, however it’s sooner than the present document held by South African father-son crew Mike and Luke Bell.
The sporting rivalry between Biggs and the Bells has became an ever extra thrilling velocity race. What began in Might 2024 with the Bells’ Peregrine 2 hitting 300 mph (482 km/h) has turn out to be a dizzying escalation: 363 mph (585 km/h) in October 2025, 389 mph (626 km/h) in December, and 408 mph (656 km/h) in early January 2026. Now Biggs has fired again with a from-scratch design that hit 411 mph (661 km/h).
“So, a few weeks after we set our new world document, Luke went and beat our document,” Biggs explains firstly of his video documenting his newest try. “So, we could not have that!”
THE COMEBACK – World’s FASTEST Drone the BlackBird
Biggs ran two passes following Guinness pointers. One downwind at 395 mph (635 km/h) and one upwind at 429 mph (690 km/h), averaging 411 mph (661 km/h) after accounting for the obligatory 328-ft (100-m) measurement zone. Sadly, he could not get licensed skilled drone pilots on-site in time to make it official – a Thursday morning logistics drawback meaning the document stays unofficial for now.
The key to squeezing out these additional miles per second is in balancing motor energy and battery output with out overheating, whereas slashing aerodynamic drag and weight. Biggs makes use of two SMC 7S 6,000-mAh batteries wired in sequence to create a 14S configuration – mainly, extra voltage means you’ll be able to push the identical energy by means of decrease present, which retains issues cooler. He additionally overcharges the batteries to 4.35 volts per cell as an alternative of the usual 4.2, letting them preserve greater voltage underneath load so the motors spin sooner.
Biggs’ design additionally breaks from conference. The engineer went with a “puller” configuration – motors up entrance – so the propellers chunk into clear air as an alternative of turbulent wash from the body. The custom-wound AAX 2826 Competitors motors have extra-long coil leads fed straight by means of the drone’s arms and soldered straight to the velocity controllers, eliminating pointless wiring and retaining the arms ultra-slim. The Blackbird’s propellers have been trimmed all the way down to hit greater prime speeds as properly.
In the course of the document run, the motors spun at 34,000 RPM whereas the batteries held 3.1 volts per cell at peak velocity. “I feel these motors will simply fly all day like that,” Biggs says after touchdown, with the batteries nonetheless at 8% cost and a comparatively cool 169 °F (76 °C).
This specific Guinness class is explicitly restricted to battery-powered, remote-controlled quadcopters, a technological area of interest the place 411 mph is already significantly spectacular. Will the Bells reply with a fair sooner Peregrine V5 earlier than Biggs manages to formalize his document as soon as he rounds up the required official witnesses, or will the Australian engineer tune issues up for a fair faster official run?
Both method, every design iteration pushes the boundaries of what lithium-ion batteries and propellers can obtain in dense air at low altitude – although given the comparatively marginal velocity improve achieved by the Blackbird over the current official record, we wonder if this specific battle for aerial supremacy has about run its course for present applied sciences.
Supply: Benjamin Biggs/Drone Pro Hub
