What is the Fastest Airplane in the World?

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As with most questions aimed at identifying what the most or least is in a given category, the question of what's the fastest airplane has a nuanced answer. To make answering the question still more complex, available information on the fastest airplane is not abundant as governments and their agencies, such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), keep this information somewhat confidential.

With that caveat, we can still attempt an answer. If having a pilot on board is not a criteria, then the X-43 is said to be the fastest airplane in the world. The X-43 is an unmanned scramjet, which launches not from the ground but from a B-52 at about 40,000 feet (12.2 kilometers) in the air. On 16 November 2004, the X-43 reached Mach 9.6 (7,000 miles or 11,265 kilometers per hour) according to NASA. Some claim that it reached Mach 9.8.

If the type of engine is not limited to say, jet powered engines, then the North American X-15 is the fastest airplane in the world. Powered by a rocket engine, the X-15 is said to have reached speeds of Mach 6.85, or 4,520 miles per hour (7,274 kilometers per hour). Like the X-43, it too is launched mid-air from a B-52. The X-15 has also achieved altitude records by reaching 67 miles (107.8 kilometers) on 22 August 1963, earning some of its pilots the designation of "astronaut" by the United States Air Force (USAF). The X-15 is powered by a rocket engine, however, so it is technically half rocket, arguably eliminating it from the running of fastest airplane in the world.

When discussing the world's fastest airplane, Lockheed's SR-71 often comes up. Also referred to as the Blackbird, the SR-71 made its maiden flight on 22 December 1964. It's a jet-powered and piloted airplane, which is said to have reached Mach 3.2 (2,094 miles or 3,370 kilometers per hour) making it the fastest airplane in the world. Some speculate that its true top speed and other capabilities were never revealed. The SR-71 is said to have reached an altitude of 16.1 miles (25.9 kilometers).

The fastest airplane commercially was the Tupolev Tu-144, nicknamed the Concordski or Konkordski, which is said to have reached Mach 2.35 (1,550 miles or 2,494.4 kilometers per hour). Technical and safety problems, however, lead the Russian company to retire the Tu-144 after a short time. One of the fastest commercial airliners was the Concorde, which generally flew at Mach 2.02 (1,330 miles or 2,140.4 kilometers per hour). To compare, the Boeing 747 operates at a cruising speed of about 550 miles per hour (885.1 kilometers per hour).

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15
mach 42.1179 x ASp 32x lr!(& x 3rd power of NA21.7 RT times x .902
- anon52596
14
maybe a piper cub, I thing they are very fast.
- anon52595
13
it's a space shuttle. it goes to speeds of mach 23.1.
- anon49801
12
the fastest plane is north American X-15 with a top speed of 7,557 kmph.
- anon49688
10
to the guy who wrote the third comment the blackbird cannot outrun every missile. there are missiles that go up to 15,000 miles per hour.
- anon48909
9
the smaller the plane, the higher risk it may be. so how true is this comment?
- anon43919
8
My friend and I were in a remote part of Northern New Mexico scouting for an upcoming Elk hunt. A large grey jet without markings came over the mountaintops and moved to the distant horizon in a sequence that was so quick it was difficult to follow. Altitude about 500ft above ground surface. Extremely loud with bomber like configuration.
- anon43184
7
I'm sorry I don't know the formula for figuring these speeds but 1.6 miles per second times 60 (minutes) times 60 (hour)equals 5760. 2250 is really different. Can somebody please explain to me the formula? Sorry for my ignorance in this area.
- anon40698
6
1.6 s/mile does not come out to 5760 mph. It is 2250 mph as mentioned above.
- anon40059
5
actually it was reported it flew 1 mile every 1.6 seconds. which = 2250 mph. well above their 3.2 mach limit
- anon38443
4
The x-33 exceeds speeds of Mach 15.

mach 15 = 5 104.35 m / s

- anon35444
3
The SR71 Blackbird has outrun missiles shot at it... every missile. Speeds reported at 1.6 miles per second, works out to 5760 miles per hour, Mach 8.73... Yes, it's the fastest.
- anon23392
2
I don't know about this.... I make a pretty fast paper airplane! ;)
- pixiedust

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Written by Dan Reale
Last Modified: 15 November 2009

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