Talk:Flight airspeed record

fragmented
this table is extreemly fragmented, mach rates are needed in each translation and check out SCRAMJETS and other articles, there are faster planes, thank you.

Hughes
Why is Howard Hughes's 1935 record not shown?- Moshe Constantine Hassan Al-Silverburg | Talk 19:02, 17 March 2007 (UTC)
 * Because it wasn't a record. It was believed to be a record at the time, but it is now recognized that both Motta and Stainforth had already gone faster. DH85868993 (talk) 16:08, 2 May 2009 (UTC)


 * Hughes did set an official record-- for landplanes. Tim Zukas (talk) 16:43, 10 May 2012 (UTC)

Units
The table currently lists record speeds in mph first and km/h second. Mph should be second, if at all included. 85.224.198.251 20:36, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

Agreed. Knots (and mach for the supersonic aircraft) would make much more sense than mph. Nojamus (talk) 19:39, 31 July 2008 (UTC)

Arrow?
Is there a place to unofficially list the CF-105 Avro Arrow? It was expected to be capable of breaking the then-record airspeed (1132 mph / 1822 km/h), set in 1956) once it had the Orenda Iroquois engines installed, but was believed capable of it with the US built engines installed in the Mark I. GBC 13:42, 18 May 2007 (UTC)

Gloster Meteor/Me 262 need checking
The table is somewhat inconsistent in ordering and figures when it comes to those two planes: the (stated) speed for the Me262 (1009 km/h) is higher than both the (stated) speeds for the Gloster Meteor (975.9, 990.79 km/h), AND it was achieved earlier (1944 vs 1945, 1946), so logically only the Me262 should be listed. How can be achieving an inferior speed at a later time considered a "record" ? Unless values are incorrect to begin with... EpiVictor 00:30, 6 July 2007 (UTC)

Addendum: on more careful examination, the Me 262 would even surpass the Lockheed P-80 Shooting_Star of 1947!!! The 1004 km/h figure must be wrong, it's not even close to the maximum specified speed for the Me262, which is 850 km/h. EpiVictor 00:34, 6 July 2007 (UTC)

Turned out to be a gross mph -> kmh conversion mistake, now the airspeed fits in, however the pilot's name is suspect... EpiVictor 00:40, 6 July 2007 (UTC)

I can't find any fault with the conversion: the 624mph speed of the Me262 does work out to 1004km/h, as stated in the table. This is much faster than the Gloster Meteor and the P80 Shooting Star ever went (see, for instance, http://www.meteorflight.com/ .) The Meteor and the Shooting Star were both important aircraft in that they were the first operational jet fighters of the UK and US, respectively. The Meteor also broke some records for things like fastest climb rate. But that colourful history does not warrant inclusion in the speed record table. So I recommend that we either remove the Meteor and Shooting Star completely, or add another column to the table that specifies the record that was broken. In the latter case, however, it would only be fair to add many more historic aircraft. Nojamus (talk) 19:39, 31 July 2008 (UTC)

I think it would be wrong to remove the Meteor and the Shooting Star. That's because even assuming the Me262 and the Komet had gone faster (which is likely but not certain), those records were unofficial because none of them had ever been witnessed or verified by the FAI. So, even though the Me262 had set an unofficial record of 624 mph back in 1944, the official airspeed records were set after the war by the Meteor and then by the Shooting Star. This is the logical explanation for the discrepancy, and also the reason why the discrepancy should remain. I suggest instead that the Me262 record be labeled as "unofficial" or "unverified" to reflect the fact that it was not witnessed by the FAI.

76.21.37.87 (talk) 23:29, 27 May 2009 (UTC)

Messerschmitt Me 209
Messerschmitt Me 209 says "test-pilot Fritz Wendel flew it to a new world speed record of almost 756 km/h (470 mph) on 26 April, 1939 bearing the German civil registration D-INJR".-- Matthead discuß!    O       16:58, 1 August 2007 (UTC)

Heinkel He 100
Heinkel He 100 says "Hans Dieterle flew to a new record on 30 March 1939, at 746.6 km/h (463.9 mph)."-- Matthead discuß!    O       17:03, 1 August 2007 (UTC)

Inconsistent mph/km
Currently, we have:


 * 1903 || Wilbur Wright || 6.82 || 15.77 || Wright Flyer || Kitty Hawk, NC, USA

This numbers are not consistent. (However, 9.82 is approximately consistent with 15.77. Typo?) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.77.147.227 (talk) 02:45, 13 June 2009 (UTC)

Unknown person as SR-71 record pilot
I have restored AF Maj Gen Joersz (then Capt Joersz) as the record pilot for the SR-71 Blackbird. The insertion of one "R... S..." appears to be vandalism. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 192.91.171.36 (talk) 02:02, 19 June 2009 (UTC)

A-12 was the fastet?
Howcome the SR-71 holds the speed record when A-12 is listed as the faster of the two (Mach 3.35 vs Mach 3.2)? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.8.45.41 (talk) 20:16, 7 February 2011 (UTC)

SpaceShipOne
I think Scaled Composite´s SpaceShipOne could be in the list.--80.32.64.198 (talk) 08:24, 11 August 2010 (UTC)


 * It's not fast enough. As far as I can tell, SpaceShipOne is slower than both the SR-71 (the official fastest airplane) and the X-15 (the aircraft most similar to SS1). --Carnildo (talk) 23:08, 11 August 2010 (UTC)

Yeager's "record"
Hi, does anyone know why Chuck Yeager's 1947 "record" is not officially recognised? 86.173.37.126 (talk) 14:36, 12 January 2011 (UTC)
 * "Official" records have to be done over measured courses-- so-and-so kilometers in so many minutes and seconds. The X-1 couldn't carry enough fuel for that. And most (all?) "official" records are set by aircraft that take off under their own power. (So why is Maia/Mercury's distance record considered "official"? No one knows.) Tim Zukas (talk) 16:48, 10 May 2012 (UTC)

what is the fastest manned airplane currently in operation?
--boarders paradise (talk) 14:10, 14 August 2011 (UTC)
 * If you go by admitted, verified speeds, it would probably be the MiG-25.Nigel Ish (talk) 14:44, 14 August 2011 (UTC)


 * Depending on what and how they upgraded it might also be a MiG-31. However ... who believes that we really know what's availlable. I would really love to know the true numbers of the XF-23 for instance, although those pity birds were grounded for no good reason :-(. Manned combat flight becoming a thing of the past ... happy to have caught the era :-). JB. --92.193.249.122 (talk) 05:53, 10 November 2018 (UTC)

Where do these go?
Where does this go?

"Air Force 'Hypersonic' Jet Sets New Speed Records" Published May 27, 2010
 * Associated Press

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/05/27/air-force-hypersonic-jet-waverider-record/

And maybe even this?

"Experimental Aircraft to Go From Zero to 13,000 in Hypersonic Test Launch" Published August 10, 2011
 * FoxNews.com

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/08/09/aircraft-set-to-shatter-speed-sound/?test=latestnews

Thanks!

Misty MH (talk) 00:27, 8 September 2011 (UTC)

Fastest Glider
When the Space Shuttle returned to Earth, it was technically a glider. As such, the speed record for gliders is actually supersonic. JimH443 (talk) 13:24, 18 January 2013 (UTC)

It needs to be made clear whether the records are manned or not, and recent hypersonic experiments included
I agree with other observations made in the talk to date.

- It should be made clear whether these are (the page is dedicated to) _manned_ flight airspeed records. In some cases manned records are mentioned, but it could be made clearer by having a single table with a column for manned/unmanned indicators, since the topic title is 'Flight airspeed record'.

- Mach speeds (at altitudes) need to be included in the table(s).

- The are some recent hypersonic experimental aircraft (unmanned) not mentioned (perhaps it is because the X-51 is not faster than the X-43, which is mentioned under Other air speed records):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_X-51 (The Boeing X-51 (also known as X-51 WaveRider) is an unmanned scramjet demonstration aircraft for hypersonic (Mach 6, approximately 4,000 miles per hour (6,400 km/h) at altitude) flight testing)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_X-43 (The X-43 is an unmanned experimental hypersonic aircraft with multiple planned scale variations meant to test various aspects of hypersonic flight. It was part of NASA's Hyper-X program and has set several airspeed records for jet-propelled aircraft. The X-43 is the fastest aircraft on record at over 6,500 miles per hour (10,461 km/h)

— Preceding unsigned comment added by 58.172.170.24 (talk) 11:39, 4 March 2013 (UTC)

Table Sort by date broken
The sort by date feature does not work correctly, probably because the dates are entered in text rather than date format. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Andrew.gillham (talk • contribs) 11:38, 26 August 2016 (UTC)
 * User:Andrew.gillham Second that. How to fix is at Help:Table and Help:Sorting. Widefox ; talk 15:02, 21 July 2017 (UTC)

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Qualifications for record
Reading the article I am unsure of why some things like the X-15 don't Qualify for the record. Should we maybe put in what an aircraft has to do to qualify for the record? Stuff like being able to take off and land under its own power, or whatever. 104.205.8.141 (talk) 02:43, 6 February 2017 (UTC)

Concorde
Perhaps the Concorde (or the Concordski?) should get a mention in "Other records" as fastest commercial passenger carrier?

--23.119.204.117 (talk) 16:53, 26 February 2017 (UTC)

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Scott Crossfield and Chuck Yeager
On November 20, 1953, Scott Crossfield became the first pilot to break Mach 2, flying a D-558-II Skyrocket. Shortly thereafter, on December 12, 1953, Chuck Yeager reached Mach 2.44 in a Bell X-1A. Why aren't these records listed anywhere in the article? Even if they are unofficial records, they should be listed. Andrea Parton (talk) 00:09, 3 November 2017 (UTC)

mixing
The mixing of official and unofficial records on this page is dubious. Creates confusion as to what a record is. A record isn't the speculation. A record is something that somebody stands behind. I would call all of the records from the X Planes official because they were published government figures that were Beyond any other published figures. This page is becoming something of a mess because it seems about everybody has something to say about it whether or not it is about flight AirSpeed records. I would agree that all records don't necessarily need to be FIA records. Especially since the FIA website is practically impenetrable but they should be verifiable somewhere and properly sourced as they are the topic of the page. I just removed the part about the Apollo capsule. The Apollo capsule being able to change attitude simply means it could control at what angle it was relative to the ground before they entered the atmosphere. Those little Jets did not control the attitude of the capsule during the ionized descent when the craft is being slammed around and decelerating at 6 or 7 GS. From the upper reaches of the atmosphere, to the ocean, the craft was under the control of Sir Isaac Newton.Jackhammer111 (talk) 01:03, 13 December 2017 (UTC)

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Diana Barnato Walker - air speed record for women
Should we not also mention the first lady to break the sound barrier?

"On 26 August 1963 she flew an English Electric Lightning T4 to Mach 1.6 (1,262 mph) after convincing the Air Minister to let her fly it with Squadron Leader Ken Goodwin as her check pilot, and so became the first British woman to break the sound barrier. She also established by this flight a world air speed record for women." Andywebby (talk) 00:02, 23 July 2018 (UTC)
 * Sure, with exception of Valentina Tereshkova and her space flight in June that same year ;-). Sorry, couldn't help to mention it as the article is so free as to mention the space shuttle and all. But really, I wonder if the Sowiets didn't fly some women records as their girls flew all over WWII ... JB. --92.193.249.122 (talk) 06:02, 10 November 2018 (UTC)

Spitfire speeds
"The unofficial record for fastest piston-engined aeroplane (not in level flight) is held by a Supermarine Spitfire Mk XIX, which was calculated to have achieved a speed of 690 mph (1,110 km/h, Mach 0.96) in a dive on 5 February 1952." Article Fastest propeller-driven aircraft says this probably isn't true. 2001:56A:F03F:5200:8D7D:F6BC:60D8:D5BC (talk) 23:32, 14 January 2019 (UTC)

HTV-2 - New speed record?
DARPA's HTV-2 went Mach 20 (~15,000! mph). Does it meet the FAI rules? It's probably a little premature for this until we get some definite speeds, etc, but wanted to mention the HTV-2 so we can keep an eye on it. Superfast Military Aircraft Hit Mach 20 Before Ocean Crash, DARPA Says Netdragon (talk) 01:09, 2 August 2019 (UTC)


 * HTV-2 is already mentioned in the "other" table as the fastest glider, that is not an official record and I suspect it unlikely to be recogonised by the FAI. MilborneOne (talk) 13:03, 2 August 2019 (UTC)

Lighter than air aircraft
If this is relevant to to the article, what was the speed record achieved by airships and zeppelins before and slightly after 1900.--OneSixtyNine (talk) 10:04, 28 April 2020 (UTC)

Why Wright and not Lilienthal??
How come the list begins with not one but two unofficial entries for the Wrights Bros., even though Otto Lilienthal was surely faster than 7 mph in the 1890s?--2001:A62:1541:6C01:E0D7:CD94:11BF:7A83 (talk) 10:20, 25 December 2020 (UTC)

Mach?
Would it not be beneficial for Mach to be listed as a speed? It's basically the measurement for how fast planes go. GarethBaloney (talk) 06:49, 21 April 2024 (UTC)
 * It's less helpful than you might think as the speed of sound varies with altitude and pressure. It isn't just a sinple conversion of the aircraft's velocity.Nigel Ish (talk) 10:04, 21 April 2024 (UTC)