A mostly 3D-printed model jet is being built to do something that sounds ridiculous: fly at roughly Mach 0.8.
The project comes from The Mach Initiative, a small UK team developing a jet-powered remote-control aircraft called Kingchaser. The goal is to beat the standing speed record for a jet-powered model aircraft.
Tom’s Hardware highlighted the project today, noting that much of the airframe is printed from ordinary PETG, with tougher materials added around the turbine and high-load areas.
The wild part is the material
Kingchaser is not simply a plastic toy with a turbine bolted on. The team uses PETG for much of the outer structure, carbon-fiber rods for reinforcement, PPS-CF around the hot engine area, plus aluminum, steel, and titanium where the loads demand it.
That mix is what makes the project interesting. 3D printing is still often treated as a prototyping tool, but this team is pushing printed parts into a vehicle expected to survive serious aerodynamic forces and turbine heat.
BitcoinVersus has been following the same idea in other forms: a student-built AI mecha suit made with 3D printing, 3D-printed robotic prosthetic arms, and even the Volonaut Airbike pushing personal flight in a completely different direction.
Mach 0.8 is the target—not the result yet
The team has already flown its smaller Kingfisher Mk2 at about 205 mph. Kingchaser is the larger record-attempt machine and is designed around a much more powerful turbine.
Its Mach 0.8 goal works out to roughly 600-plus mph depending on conditions. The important part: the team has not claimed that speed yet. There is also no announced date for the record attempt.
SmartNews takeaway
3D printing has moved a long way past desk toys. A small engineering team is now using consumer-style additive manufacturing, carbon fiber, telemetry, and a real turbine to chase a world speed record.
If Kingchaser gets anywhere close to Mach 0.8, “printed plastic airplane” is going to need a much more serious definition.
BitcoinVersus.Tech Editor’s Note: Mach 0.8 is Kingchaser’s design target, not a verified achieved speed.
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