Tomas Salvo, a Georgia Tech student, has unofficially broken the world record for the fastest jet-powered drone with his 'Reaper' aircraft, reaching 491 mph. The drone, built in his dorm for $13,000, features a carbon fiber shell, laser-cut structure, and a 3D-printed titanium nozzle for its jet engine. Salvo is aiming to win the $800,000 Boom Prize, which requires an aircraft to exceed Mach 1 for at least five seconds, be air-breathing, and land intact. AI
IMPACT Demonstrates rapid prototyping and engineering innovation outside of traditional corporate or government labs.
RANK_REASON Student-built drone achieves record speed and targets a specific prize. [lever_c_demoted from research: ic=2 ai=0.1]
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- Blake Scholl
- Boom Prize
- Boom Technology
- Georgia Tech
- Guinness World Records
- Kingchaser
- Mach Initiative
- Niels Herbrich
- ReaPER+
- Tomas Salvo
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