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Flight airspeed record

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An air speed record is the highest speed attained by an aircraft of a particular class.

The rules for all official aviation records are defined by Fédération Aéronautique Internationale and they also ratify any claims. There are three classes of aircraft: landplanes, seaplanes and amphibians and within these classes there are records for aircraft in several mass bands. There are still further sub-divisions for piston-engined, turbojet, turboprop and rocket-engined aircraft. Within each of these groups, records are defined for speed over a straight course and for closed circuits of various sizes carrying various payloads. There are still further records for the speed between specified cities such as London to New York.

Official records versus unofficial

The SR-71 "Blackbird" holds the official Air Speed Record for a jet aircraft with a speed of 3,529.56 km/h (2,188 mph). It was a manned aircraft powered by air-breathing engines, and was capable of taking off and landing unassisted on conventional runways. The record was set on 28 July 1976 by Eldon W. Joersz near Beale Air Force Base, California, USA.[1]

However for many people the term 'air speed record' implies simply the fastest aircraft. Other aircraft have flown faster without breaking the official air speed record. This is because they do not comply with FAI rules. For example, high-speed aircraft are often unable to take off under their own power, and so require a carrier aircraft.

The Space Shuttle is the fastest aircraft, reaching speeds of 17,500 miles per hour. During re-entry when it flies at its highest speed, it is a glider, relying on residual speed from being in orbit. It is unable to take off under its own power, requiring two solid rocket boosters and a discardable fuel tank to reach orbit. During ascent the airspeed is under Mach 2 whilst in what would normally be considered to be the atmosphere; the Shuttle leaves the atmosphere as soon as possible, and fairly plausibly is not an aircraft, as most people would consider the term, on the way to orbit.

The Boeing X-43A is the fastest air-breathing aircraft, having set a speed record of 11,200 km/h (7,000 mph), or Mach 9.68, on November 16, 2004. However, it is unmanned, and relies on a carrier aircraft to reach altitude, and a discardable booster rocket to reach the operating speed of its scramjet engine. It is also incapable of landing.

The rocket-powered X-15 was the fastest powered, manned aircraft, reaching a top speed of 7,274 km/h (4,510 mph) on October 3, 1967. However, it was a rocket-powered test aircraft incapable of taking off from the ground and was launched at altitude from a carrier aircraft and operated at the margins of the atmosphere.

Timeline

From this point records are set at alitude and not sea level.

  • 1955 Horace A Hanes 822.13 mph (first supersonic for a jet) in North American F-100C Super Sabre, Palmdale, USA
  • 1956 Peter Twiss 1132.13 mph in Fairey Delta 2, Chichester, GB
  • 1965 Robert L Stephens & Daniel Andre 2070.10 mph in Lockheed YF-12A, Edwards AFB, USA
  • 1967 X-15 at 4,510 miles per hour (7,274 km/h)
  • 1976 SR-71 flew near Beale AFB, USA at 2,188 mph (3,529.56 km/h), which is the highest of the current official air speed records
  • 1986 Westland Lynx set helicopter world speed record of 400.87 km/h (249.09 mph)
  • 2004 NASA's X-43A hypersonic aircraft at 7000 mph (11,200 km/h)

See also

Reference

  1. ^ "Current air speed record". Retrieved 2006-10-18.
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