Peregreen 3: Fastest electric DIY quadcopter drone flies 585 km/h
The high-speed drone Peregreen 3 has set a new speed record of 585 km/h. The effort involved is high.
Luke Bell prepares the Peregreen 3 for flight.
(Image: Mike Bell und Airshaper/Screenshot)
The South African father-and-son duo Mike and Luke Bell have developed what is likely the world's fastest electric DIY drone. The Peregreen 3 reached a speed of 585 km/h during a flight. Previously, the two hobbyists already held speed records in 2023 and 2024 with the predecessors of the record-breaking drone, Peregreen 1 and 2, before being dethroned in February 2025 by a Swiss development team with a speed of 558 km/h.
Achieving almost half the speed of sound with a drone powered by four electric motors was only possible through the interplay of good aerodynamics, a powerful drivetrain, and maximum heat resistance through cooling, explains Mike Bell in a video about the drone speed record. He himself focused on aerodynamics and the drivetrain in the development of the Peregreen 3. His son Luke took care of cooling the battery to be able to access the required high performance.
High-power battery
The core component of the Peregreen 3 is a high-performance battery with an output of 16 kW. The power is now about twice as high as with its predecessor. The current is then distributed via a power distributor to four electronic speed controllers for driving the motors. The drive system consumes a peak of 16.2 kW, while the predecessors Peregreen 1 and 2 consumed 5.2 and 8.9 kW, respectively.
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The four motors drive specially manufactured APC rotor blades with a very strong angle of attack. Due to the additional lift per revolution, the two developers were able to keep the rotational speed low so that no supersonic speed is generated at the rotor tips. At the same time, however, the performance at takeoff is “miserable,” says Mike Bell. It is comparable to starting a car in seventh gear. Takeoff alone at half throttle requires 5.5 kW. That is more power than Peregreen 1 needs at full speed.
Heat resistance through water cooling
The basic frame of the drone has been completely redeveloped. It turned out that the GPS did not have sufficient reception due to its position in the frame. In addition, a new cooling system had to be accommodated, which became necessary to keep the battery at bearable temperatures during high-power output, as it later turned out. Mike and Luke Bell experimented with different materials for the chassis, such as PLA, PETG, and nylon enriched with carbon fibers. They tested the heat resistance of the materials with a 3D-printed figurine in the oven. Carbon fiber-reinforced nylon proved to be the most heat-resistant and could still withstand temperatures of more than 175 degrees Celsius. PLA and PETG had already melted.
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After the 3D-printed chassis of the drone caught fire during a test flight, the development team switched from pure air cooling to water cooling with a 50-ml cooling chamber and a small pump. This small amount of water is sufficient to keep the system sufficiently cool. In contrast, the required amount of air would be enormous, explains Mike Bell. In addition, there is the positive effect that the air resistance could be reduced. Unlike the purely air-cooled predecessor drones, the complete drone hull requires no air inlets at all.
The weight of the drone has increased significantly to 2.77 kg due to the larger battery and the water cooling system. For comparison, the Peregreen 2 weighs only 1.85 kg, and the Peregreen 1 weighs 1.05 kg.
First test run and record attempt
Even during a test run with a not yet fully closed hull, which was only held together partly by tape, the Peregreen 3 broke the existing record of the Swiss team and reached 570 km/h. In the final version without air inlets and with a camera cover, the drone achieved a speed of 585 km/h.
However, at the required power, the flights do not last much longer than 110 seconds. Before landing, the battery must also have a remaining capacity of 20 percent. In pure full-throttle operation, the battery is already empty after 23 seconds.
A high-speed flight always follows a similar pattern: after takeoff, the drone reaches a speed of just under 300 km/h in just over 20 seconds. 30 seconds after takeoff, the high-speed run begins, reaching maximum speed about 40 seconds after takeoff. This is followed by a slow braking maneuver and landing. During such a flight, the drone covers a distance of about 5.5 km. The new speed record is not yet official and must still be confirmed by Guinness World Records.
(olb)
