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A Georgia Tech aerospace engineering student says his dorm-built jet-powered drone, named Reaper, reached 491 mph (790 km/h) on October 30, 2026 — a speed that would set a jet drone 491 mph record, though the flight has not been independently verified.
The Jet Drone 491 mph Record Claim
Tomas Salvo, an aerospace engineering student at Georgia Tech, said his radio-controlled aircraft Reaper hit 790 km/h (491 mph) while carrying a 1.2 kg (2.6 lb) payload. He shared the claim in a social media post on October 30, 2026, which was viewed more than two million times. Salvo said all three of his Reaper aircraft reached the claimed speed and can hold it for four minutes on a full tank. The aircraft can be rail- or truck-launched, climb to 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) in under 20 seconds, and fly for 50 km (31 miles) at full speed. Announcing the flight, Salvo wrote: “My college dorm project just broke the world speed record.”
Why the Record Is Unofficial
The 491 mph figure is Salvo’s own self-reported number. The run was recorded without sanctioned timing gates or official observers, and it has not been certified by Guinness World Records. The jet drone 491 mph record claim therefore rests entirely on Salvo’s own data, and until independent verification is completed, Reaper stands as an officially unconfirmed speed record — and a notable student engineering effort. The previous benchmark is the 465 mph mark set in 2017 by German pilot Niels Herbrich with his model aircraft Inferno, the fastest jet-powered radio-controlled aircraft on record. In his latest demonstration, Salvo’s Reaper exceeded the peak speeds reached by an earlier rival project, Kingchaser, by nearly two and a half times, according to trade-press reporting.
A New Breed of Amateur Jet Aviation
Herbrich’s 465 mph record stood for nine years, set by an experienced pilot with a purpose-built aircraft. That a university student working in a dorm room now claims to have beaten it by 26 mph says something about how far small jet aviation has come: carbon-fibre airframes, 3D-printed parts and compact turbojet engines are now within reach of amateur builders. The Boom Prize has sharpened that race, drawing several amateur teams to chase the sound barrier with aircraft built on student budgets. Salvo is the most prominent of them, but he is not the only one trying — and the prize’s amateur-only rule, which bars corporate sponsorships and venture-capital funding, keeps the contest between builders rather than companies.
The $800,000 Boom Prize Goal
Salvo is chasing the Boom Prize, an $800,000 award announced by Boom Supersonic chief executive Blake Scholl: $750,000 in cash and $50,000 in Boom stock for the first American amateur-built, air-breathing radio-controlled aircraft to break the sound barrier in level flight. To win it, an aircraft must fly faster than Mach 1 — 767 mph (1,234.8 km/h) — for at least five continuous seconds and land safely. The competition requires two witnessed flights on the same day at Mach 1 or faster, and it is restricted to amateur hobbyists who are not funded through corporate sponsorships or venture capital. At 491 mph, Reaper remains about 276 mph short of Mach 1, but Salvo says further testing and small optimisations should push its top speed past 500 mph (800 km/h).
How Reaper Was Built
Salvo says he conceived, designed and assembled Reaper in his college dorm room, working on the project since February 2026 and first announcing it in July. He built the airframe with carbon-fibre layups done by hand, fitted a 3D-printed titanium nozzle, and powered it with a JetCat engine rated at 250 newtons of thrust, obtained through sponsorships. The build cost about $13,000. The result, he says, is a reliable and repeatable system — three identical aircraft, each capable of the claimed speed.
What Comes Next
Salvo plans more test flights and further optimisation, aiming first to break 800 km/h and then to close in on the Boom Prize’s Mach 1 threshold. He says small tweaks should push the top speed past 500 mph (800 km/h) in future tests. Whether Reaper’s 491 mph claim is independently verified or not, the project has already drawn wide attention to amateur jet aviation — and to how far a dorm-room build can now go. For now, the 465 mph mark set by Herbrich in 2017 remains the last independently recognised benchmark, and the burden of proof for the new claim rests on timed, witnessed flights.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How fast did the Reaper drone reportedly fly?
Tomas Salvo claims Reaper reached 491 mph (790 km/h) on October 30, 2026, while carrying a 1.2 kg payload, holding that speed for four minutes on a full tank.
Is the 491 mph record official?
No. The flight was not recorded with sanctioned timing gates or official observers and has not been certified by Guinness World Records. The speed remains Salvo’s claim until it is independently verified.
What is the Boom Prize?
An $800,000 prize — $750,000 in cash and $50,000 in Boom stock — offered by Boom Supersonic for the first American amateur-built radio-controlled aircraft to break the sound barrier in level flight for at least five seconds and land safely.
What was the previous record for a jet-powered RC aircraft?
465 mph, set in 2017 by German pilot Niels Herbrich with his model aircraft Inferno.
