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 (FAI), and they also ratify any claims. Speed records are divided into multiple classes with sub-divisions. There are three classes of aircraft: landplanes, seaplanes and amphibians; then 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.

1 Official records versus unofficial
2 Timeline
3 Helicopter
4 See also
5 Reference
6 External links

[edit] 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, experimental high-speed aircraft are often unable to take off under their own power, and require a carrier aircraft.

The Space Shuttle is the fastest aircraft, but it is unable to take off solely under its own power, requiring two solid rocket boosters during its ascent to orbit. During its ascent through the atmosphere the Shuttle's airspeed is under Mach 2. However, during re-entry it glides into the atmosphere at 17,500 miles per hour because of its residual orbital velocity. It is therefore not a conventional aircraft, as most people would consider the term.

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.

Year	Airspeed	Person	Aircraft
1903	9.8 mph	Wilbur Wright	Wright Flyer
1905	37.85 mph	Wilbur Wright	Wright Flyer III
1908	40.26 mph	Henry Farman	Voisin biplane
1909	47.82 mph	Louis Bleriot	Bleriot XII
1910	68.20 mph	Alfred Leblanc	Bleriot XI
1911	82.73 mph	Edouard Nieuport	Nieuport Nie-2 N
1912	108.18 mph	Jules Vedrines	Monocoque Deperdussin

[edit] Timeline

1913 Maurice Prevost at 126.66 miles per hour in the Monocoque Deperdussin
1914 Norman Spratt at 134.54 miles per hour in the RAF SE.4
1918 Roland Rohlfs at 163.06 miles per hour in the Curtiss Wasp
1919 Joseph Sadi-Lecointe at 191.1 miles per hour in the Nieuport-Delage 29v
1920 Joseph Sadi-Lecointe at 194.49 miles per hour in the Nieuport-Delage 29v
1921 Joseph Sadi-Lecointe at 205.22 miles per hour in the Nieuport-Delage
1922 William Mitchell at 224.28 miles per hour in the Curtiss R-6
1923 Alford J. Williams at 267.16 miles per hour in the Curtiss R-2C-1
1924 Florentin Bonnet at 278.47 miles per hour in the Bernard Ferbois V2
1927 Mario de Bernardi at 297.83 miles per hour in the Macchi M.52
1928 Mario de Bernardi at 318.57 miles per hour in the Macchi M.52bis
1929 Guiseppe Motta at 362 miles per hour in the Macchi M.67
1931 George H. Stainforth at 407.5 mph (655.8 km/h) in the Supermarine S.6B seaplane, Lee-on-Solent, GB
1945 H. J. Wilson at 606.38 mph in Gloster Meteor F Mk4, Herne Bay, GB
1947 Captain Charles "Chuck" Yeager at 670 mph in Bell X-1 (first confirmed supersonic flight).
1953 Neville Duke at 727.63 mph in Hawker Hunter F Mk3 - Littlehampton, GB

From this point records are set at altitude 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 1,132.13 mph in Fairey Delta 2, Chichester, GB
1965 Robert L. Stephens and Daniel Andre 2,070.10 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
2004 Unmanned NASA's X-43A hypersonic aircraft at 7,000 mph (11,200 km/h)