College student's jet-powered drone unofficially breaks drone speed record at 491 mph
Georgia Tech student aims for $800,000 Boom Prize with dorm-built Reaper drone
Tomas Salvo, an aerospace engineering student at Georgia Tech, has unofficially broken the world speed record for jet-powered drones, reaching 491 mph with a drone built and assembled in his dorm room. The drone, named Reaper, was constructed from a custom-molded carbon fiber shell and a laser-cut internal structure, powered by a 250N jet engine with a titanium 3D-printed nozzle, at a cost of $13,000. Salvo's achievement puts him in contention for the $800,000 Boom Prize, offered by Boom Supersonic CEO Blake Scholl for a drone that breaks Mach 1 under specific conditions.