DRL RacerX: The World’s Fastest Drone

The Guinness World Record for the World’s Fastest Drone is held by the Drone Racing League (DRL) with a specially engineered drone called the DRL RacerX.

The fastest speed recorded by drone was set back in mid-2017 and has not been matched since, with the RacerX achieving an impressive speed of 165.2mph / 265.87kmph on a 100-meter course, although it reached velocities of 179.78mph / 289.33kmph over longer distances.

The record-setting RacerX weighed 800 grams (1.76 pounds), produced 46’000 RPM and won the category of “fastest ground speed by a battery-powered remote-controlled quadcopter.” Earlier prototypes of the RacerX burst into flames when reaching high speeds.

“The record-setting RacerX represents the culmination of years of technological innovation by our team of world-class engineers, and we’re very excited to unveil the fastest racing drone on earth.”

– Nicholas Horbaczewski – Founder and CEO of Drone Racing League

Some facts and stats about the DRL RacerX

• Aside from the specially engineered power system, the rest of the parts in the build are typical for a racing drone.
• The DRL team needed to fly the drone back and forth across a 100m (328ft.) course, with the average measured top speed – 165.2mph – being used for the official record.
• The record was set on a field in New York with an official GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ adjudicator on-site to verify the attempt.
• Earlier prototypes of the RacerX burst into flames when reaching its peak acceleration due to a large amount of power.
• Due to the high speeds, the camera tilt on the record-setting RacerX needed to be set at 80º.
• The DRL RacerX can reach top speeds of up to 179.6 miles per hour.
• The official record title set by DRL is Fastest ground speed by a battery-powered remote-controlled quadcopter.
• The drone was hand-built by DRL’s Director of Product, Ryan Gury, and a team of engineers.
  
  
• 46,000 RPMs
• 10S (42V) Powertrain
• BeeRotor 80A (10S) ESCs / BLHeli with Multishot
• TMotor F80 2407 2500kv
• 1300mah 2 x 5S R-Line Tattu Lithium Polymer Batteries

Images and video by The Drone Racing League