On September 13, 2025, senior Michael Xu ’26 set the world record for drone flight when his homemade drone stayed aloft for 2 hours, 22 minutes and 13 seconds. His Delbarton STEM mentor, Science Department Chair Brian Theroux, pictured below with Michael and his drone, was there to help witness the flight and validate the experience for the Guinness Book world record documentation for the longest duration flight of an electrically powered UAV rotorcraft. Watch the timelapse video here. 

Michael first became interest in drone technology several years ago when he received a drone as a Christmas gift. He has been tinkering with drones and planes ever since.

While building a solar-powered drone last year, he happened upon the Guinness Book world record which inspired him to construct his record-breaking drone. “I realized that I could break it with everything I'd learned. I thought it would be really cool to set a record after years of loving aviation.”

Drone technology is still in its relatively early stages and often the domain of global military research and development. “Very few people build drones this large,” says Michael, “and there is very little documentation on how to do it.” He had some major challenges while navigating this project.  “The size of the drone made it very difficult to build a strong, yet light frame using reasonable tools, and it became extremely difficult to stabilize,” Michael says. “Most existing software is designed for much smaller drones and I spent months working to stabilize the frame and the flight controller to achieve stable controlled flight.”

Despite these hurdles, he was not deterred and continued to learn by doing, ultimately building the drone in the rendering above. Theroux helped guide him through the process for over a year. “I spent countless hours in his office during homeroom, free blocks, and outside of school hours to get his incredible advice,” says Michael.

His first drone-related project was the solar-powered plane he built last year, also with Theroux's guidance. “This is the crash video project that was shown off at the Wirth Society event last year,” he notes, proof that not all drone flights are as successful as his more recent event. Young engineers know that trial, error and trying new solutions are a key part of the process.

Michael also credits Roman Lesko '09 from CargoRaxx “who graciously custom-milled a crucial part.” Demonstrating the power of the Delbarton DelEX summer externship program, Michael met Lesko through a DelEX externship and called in the favor after seeing his shop in Warren, NJ. Lesko’s coworker Peter Janovcik spent two days manufacturing a crucial part that would have cost thousands of dollars. Janovcik asked for no payment “other than a shoutout should I receive the record,” says Michael. Behold, the shoutout.

Michael is also grateful to Delbarton, and to Headmaster Fr. Michael Tidd, O.S.B., for authorizing an investment of approximately $2,000 in parts to develop the drone as part of the School’s clubs and activities program.  Delbarton also provided Michael with access to the school's well-equipped STEM Maker Space with the 3D printers that he used to build his record-breaking drone.

"Michael’s achievement is a remarkable example of the curiosity, discipline, and creativity that we seek to cultivate in our young men at Delbarton,” says Fr. Michael. “His world-record accomplishment demonstrates not only technical skill but also the persistence and vision to apply knowledge in new ways." 

Two young alumni, former Delbotics team captains Jack Finning ’22 (University of Virginia) and Zach Vincent ’21 (University of Notre Dame), young aerospace engineers, helped Michael with his projects in the past, further proof that the Delbarton network is alive and well.

Michael entered Delbarton in 7^th grade and soon connected with other like-minded students actively involved in STEM and robotics at Delbarton. In spring 2024, as a sophomore, Michael received the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Young Engineer Award for his work in designing and building an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) capable of autonomous perpetual solar-powered flight.  Michael also received the Naval Science Award, presented by the Department of the Navy, for constructing a solar powered plane that offered the potential for perpetual flight. In February 2025 Michael won recognition from the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics for his research paper Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Perpetual Solar Flight to Cheaply Position Radio Antennas submitted to the Junior Science and Humanities Symposium at Rutgers University.  At last spring’s Underclassmen Awards ceremony he also received the Bausch & Lomb Honorary Science Award. 

In addition to his aerospace projects, in 2025 Michael was also named a National Speech & Debate Association All-American, an achievement that fewer than 1% of the more than 141,000 members of the Association earn each year. This is one busy young man.

What's next for Michael Xu? He hopes to study Aerospace Engineering in college and has high aspirations for his solar-powered drone.  “I'm hoping to turn this  into a tree-planting drone by designing a seed-dispensing system to put on the bottom of the aircraft,” says Michael. “Many forests are lost each year to forest fires each year and it's currently highly expensive to replant them. I'm hoping my ultra long-range drone can plant thousands of trees an hour.”

"We are deeply proud of Michael, and grateful that he represents the spirit of innovation and excellence that defines our community,” says Fr. Michael.

The Delbarton community salutes Michael Xu ’26 on his Guinness Book world record breaking electrically powered drone.