Father-son team from Cape Town reclaims world's fastest drone title at 657 km/h
This drone, built by Mike Bell and his son Luke, smashed another Guinness World Record
Image: SCREENSHOT
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it is a tiny home-built drone from Cape Town that just smashed a world record.
Mike Bell, 63, and his son Luke have done it again, hitting a staggering 657 km/h and setting a new fastest speed for a battery-powered remote-controlled quadcopter.
The quadcopter, a type of drone, is faster than an electric car, a bullet train, and even a World War II Spitfire.
Guinness World Records officially confirmed the achievement, which took place on a farm near Melkbostrand on December 11.
Speaking to IOL, a very proud Luke, 31, said the achievement came after more than two years of hard work and about 30 test flights to perfect the drone’s design.
“We have been doing test runs for the past five months on this design,” Luke said.
“Each time we go out, we try different configurations, aerodynamic improvements, propellers — everything to optimise the final drone.”
He said he has been flying this type of drone for years now.
"So it’s easy for me to fly," Luke, who lives in Green Point, said.
"No practice is necessary, but a lot of test flights to tweak everything are needed ... for this version, we probably did about 30 test flights all in all."
Luke, front left with the goggles, watches a drone while his dad, Mike, talks to him. It is this very drone that helped them shatter a world record for the third time.
Image: SUPPLIED
The duo first set the record in 2023 at 380 km/h, then again in 2024 at 480 km/h.
Their record was later beaten by engineers from Switzerland and Australia, but in December, just three days after the Australian record, the Bells reclaimed the crown with 657 km/h.
“I had the random thought about it two and a half years ago and just Googled what the record was,” Luke said.
“I thought it was beatable and we’ve just gone from there.
"This is the third time we have beaten the record, and it feels amazing to finally achieve it.”
He said it was a fun experience.
"The back and forth and challenge of it all is what we love,” Luke said.
“There is so much hard work that goes into this project, to finally achieve the goal is epic.”
The drone, built entirely in a home workshop in Cape Town, is now the fastest electric flight on the planet.
The propeller tips approach the speed of sound, and it reaches Mach 0.53.
“It accelerates faster than a Formula 1 car and its top speed is twice as fast,” Luke said.
Luke said he and his dad were very close and had a tight bond, and spent hours tinkering and testing the drone together.
"It means a lot to us," he said.
"On top of that our records have inspired others to try and beat us."
Cape Times