Summary
A jet-powered model aircraft built in a university dorm room reached a claimed 491 mph, above the 465 mph drone speed record, Tom’s Hardware reported on 1 November 2026. The speed is self-reported by the builder and was not officially recorded by Guinness World Records. The builder is Tomas Salvo, an aerospace engineering student at Georgia Tech. He posted the figure on LinkedIn on 30 October 2026, saying the aircraft, called Reaper, hit 790 km/h while carrying a 1.2 kg payload. “This is now a reliable and repeatable system,” Salvo said in the post. He also said three Reapers exist, that each can hold that speed for four minutes on a full tank, and that the aircraft can be rail or truck launched, climb to 2,000 m in under 20 seconds and then fly 50 km at full speed. What a 250 N jet engine gives you The engine is a JetCat rated at 250 newtons of thrust, which Salvo obtained through sponsorships before the Boom Prize was announced, according to Tom’s Hardware. The whole aircraft weighs 11 pounds, the same report said. A rival project, Mach Initiative’s Kingchaser, uses a larger 300 N engine and managed 273 mph on a test flight, because it did not have enough space to accelerate. Mach Initiative estimates a top speed of 550 mph with the room to build it up. Tom’s Hardware put the Kingchaser’s lower number down to that lack of space to accelerate, noting that its engine is the larger of the two. Carbon fibre, laser cut parts and a 13,000. The Kingchaser is printed in PETG. Reaper also uses some 3D printing, in what Tom’s Hardware called a much more expensive fashion: its stock engine nozzle is replaced with a titanium 3D-printed nozzle. The replacement nozzle lets the engine sit further forward, which improves the centre of gravity without adding ballast on the front, the same report said. Mach 1 is still the target Salvo is aiming at the 750,000 in cash and 50,000 in August after raising $20,000 from a source he did not disclose. Mach Initiative replied to Scholl’s post about the prize with “challenge accepted”, though the eligibility rules may rule the team out, as its members are not US citizens. They are still pursuing an officially recorded Guinness World Record. Both projects were chasing Niels Herbrich’s existing record for the fastest jet-powered RC aircraft. Salvo said future testing and small optimisations should push Reaper’s top speed past 800 km/h. Mach 1 is 1,234.8 km/h, or 767.3 mph. Sources:
- Tom’s Hardware: https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/drones/college-student-unofficially-breaks-world-record-for-fastest-jet-powered-drone-with-491-mph-aircraft-built-in-his-dorm-reaper-aims-to-grab-the-usd800-000-boom-prize - Tomas Salvo on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/tomas-salvo-501608142_my-college-dorm-project-just-broke-the-world-activity-7522048166612004865-ebkh