For Connecticut teen Austin Haughwout, putting a gun on a drone and test firing it without knowing about legal repercussions is not enough. Now he goes for something flaming this time, and having Hobby King (which also sells airsoft guns apart from drones and RC stuff) to sponsor his latest project --- a flame throwing drone.

To prove it, he puts up a video on YouTube, where he roasts a turkey with the drone, though he burnt it to crisp:

Most of the important for the drone were from Hobby King, whilst fuel pump used for the flamethrower was from Amazon. Some parts were produced with 3D printing since they may not be commercially available. As for turkey, I don’t know if that was sponsored, probably a local meat shop unaware of what the teenager is up to this time.

Some viewers were concerned whether it was dangerous for the teen to put the contraption together and have a go at playing with the flamethrower, which is dangerous to operate if not handled properly, especially on a drone that was just put together. Haughwout said that he had some precautions in place such as having buckets of water, fire extinguishers, and hoses in case the fire spreads out to other areas, or if the experiment goes wrong.

Whilst the idea of a creating a flame throwing drone is not new and done in strict conditions, this is the first one to be created by a hobbyist. We don’t know if Haughwout is violating any law, whether federal or local, by weaponising a drone with a flamethrower. So far, no one has complained about the teen and his drone; and it was done on private property.

I would not recommend that you do this at home if you are a drone owner. There are still inherent dangers of having a DIY flame throwing drone since there are variables that it can go wrong. Just imagine a runaway drone with a tank full of fuel and about to slam into a building or house?
As for Austin Haughwout, he still needs to polish his roasting skills so he can do to turkey for Thanksgiving next year.