University of Manchester engineers claim they have flown the world’s largest unmanned quadcopter drone.

In spite of the university’s claim, there is no independent verification of a bigger unmanned quadcopter.

Quadcopters are drones with four propellers, as their name suggests.

It spans 6.4m (21ft) corner to corner and is made of foamboard, giving it a cardboard-like appearance.

Snowdonia Aerospace Centre hosted the first flight of the Giant Foamboard Quadcopter (GFQ) in July.

In his statement, GFQ’s pilot, Kieran Wood, a lecturer in Aerospace Systems at the University said: “The first moments of flight are crucial for these multi-copter drones. You must get them right.”

The flight was fortunately not disrupted by an unscheduled rapid disassembly, as he stated.

There is a weight limit set by the Civil Aviation Authority for drones of this type of which is 24.5kg – 0.5kg less than what the drone weighs.

In order to build the quadcopter, foamboard sheets – which are a core of foam sandwiched between two pieces of paper – were used. Foamboard is often used in modelling and mounting artwork. This project started as a project for students exploring the use of low-cost materials for lightweight aircraft structures that are more environmentally friendly than carbon fibre.

It is the art of the possible to hold up 25kg of aircraft using just a few strategically placed pieces of paper, according to professor Bill Crowther from the university.

A cardboard drone may seem more like child’s play than cutting-edge aviation, but cardboard drones are a serious business.

Australia’s SYPAQ company has supplied Ukraine with fixed-wing cardboard drones. The company revealed in March that hundreds of flat-packed drones were being shipped to the country every month.