What is the fastest aircraft?

Tadpole Angel

The fastest passenger aircraft was the concorde but its no longer in service. The fastest aircraft is SR-71 Blackbird i believe. But I heard somewhere that NASA is working on a hypersonic aircraft... Dec 17 03, 10:35 PM

JaneofGaunt

Plane - Top Speed - Maximum Altitude 1. X-15 Mach 6.72 354,200 feet 2. SR-71 Blackbird (YF-12) Mach 3.35 80,000 feet 3. MiG-25 Foxbat-B Mach 3.2 80,052 feet Dec 17 03, 10:50 PM

lothruin

I think that technically the space shuttles are aircrafts, and considering the speeds at which they orbit the earth, they are most likely the fastest. They orbit at approximately 17,580 mph, or about 7,860 miles per second. Because the mach speeds are relative to the speed of sound, which changes at a given altitude, it is tough to come up with an exact maximum speed. But the X-15 at Mach 6.72 is probably traveling at about 5,115 miles per second, give or take a few hundred depending on the altitude. Since the X-15 can't reach orbit, it's hard to say if it would be faster or slower than the shuttle. Dec 17 03, 11:50 PM

JaneofGaunt

The Apollo 10 craft reached Mach 37.6 upon re-entry; the Helios satellite orbiting the sun travels at Mach 227.3. Keep in mind these are spacecraft and not aircraft. The above is a direct lift from # http://www.globalaircraft.org/top50.htm he Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, first flown in 1963, is the fastest operational aircraft to fly within earth's atmosphere. At an operational altitude of 80,000 feet the SR-71 can achieve speeds over 2,200 MPH or above Mach 3. The airframe is built almost exclusively of titanium to withstand the extreme heat generated and two Pratt and Whitney J-58 axial flow turbojets producing a total of 68,000 pounds of thrust. Only the experimental X-15 surpasses the SR-71 for the outright records at Mach 6.72. Dec 18 03, 12:06 AM

Hamlet.

Crafts, like the Space Shuttle, that are designed primarily to travel in space, are not what I'm asking about...J of G is correct in her choice of the X-15. The X-15A-2 was dropped from the belly of a B-52 bomber. When released, its rockets ignited taking it to a speed of 4,534 mph - 6 times the speed of sound. The SR-71 (blackbird) is the fastest know aircraft that can take off under its own power... Dec 18 03, 5:35 AM

lothruin

The only reason I listed the Space Shuttle, which is probably more accurately a spacecraft rather than an aircraft, is because it also flies within the atmosphere. Other spacecraft are launched via rocket and aren't designed to travel within the atmosphere at all. The shuttle is different. So, they could be considered an aircraft. Dec 18 03, 8:52 AM

Create a Free FunTrivia ID to add to, request more/new answers, or edit this entry

What was the fastest propellor aircraft of WW2? What is the fastest insect? Who is the fastest typist? What is fixed wing aircraft?

1 Fastest of the Fast In professional cycling, sprinters are the madmen of the peloton, risking life and limb to put their wheel across the line first. This quiz covers some of the sprinters I have had the pleasure of watching over the years in the Tour de France. France Difficult 10 Q KayceeKool Apr 20 09 177 plays 2 Hurling: World's Fastest Game This quiz deals with the rules of the game of hurling and also with its history. Hurling Average 10 Q yavemiel Nov 16 07 249 plays 3 Name That Aircraft Simple quiz if you know your aircraft. I will give you the aircraft and you tell me who made it. Aviation Average 20 Q gshatz Apr 05 01 2739 plays