Talk:Flight altitude record

Untitled
I've added a few records by Louis Paulhan to the table, but it now occurs to me that this page could be problematic because the FAI no longer keeps a single record for altitude in aeroplanes, but a number of separate records, depending on payload carried - more than 50 separate records in all. Then you need to consider the type and sub-classs of aeroplane - dozens more to multiply the 50+ by. Then powerplant...... Quite honestly, I don't think this page can work as it is without a much tighter defintion, and even then.... Emeraude 18:18, 2 January 2007 (UTC)


 * Well...maybe the table should be broken up. Have records for Prop planes in one table, then records for Jets in another then for rocket-powered planes, balloons, and maybe space vehicles in others. I don't think it would be necessary to take into account plane type, powerhouse, etc. other than listing the record holder's model and a link to the planes' pages if they exist, because in the general sense of the article a prop plane is a prop plane. KoreFelpz 02:53, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

Inclusion of rocket planes
I don't think it's justified to include the X-15 and SpaceShipOne records, because they are more sub-orbital rockets than airplanes. Otherwise the Apollo flights should be included. --80.139.102.211 17:56, 7 October 2007 (UTC)

World record of sustained altitude flight by air-breathing jet aircraft
On May 1, 1965, a Lockheed YF-12A (the prototype for the SR-71 Blackbird) set a record for sustaine altitude (ie not merely the highest altitude attained on a parabolic climb) of 80,257 feet. If I recall correctly, a MiG-25 Foxbat holds the world's record for altitude achieved on a parabolic climb, but could not sustain it. The consensus among many aviation experts is that the SR-71 could sustain much more than 80,000 feet (I've heard 90,000 feet or more bandied about) but I don't have solid data for corroboration. Raryel (talk) 16:47, 14 October 2012 (UTC)

Table needs some fixing
Hey, if someone has the time to fix this page's table, please do. On my Mario Pezzi page (under Record Flight) I have the names and altitudes of the highest propeller planes in the 19-teens. (years) Also its confusing as all the heights are in different measurements. I dont have the time to convert or I would --Joooeeeelllll 21:55, 8 July 2007 (UTC)

Merger soon.
I removed the merger tag because I will soon perform the merger. I will post again when I complete the task.Kville105125 17:37, 17 October 2007 (UTC)

I merged in Manned balloon altitude records. Another merge candidate, List of altitude records reached by different aircraft types (marked since Dec '06) remains to be done. Hult041956 (talk) 01:42, 17 November 2007 (UTC)


 * And today I merged in List of altitude records reached by different aircraft types. We now have one article where once there were three. The result is very rough. However, interested contributors should be able to improve one article better than three. Hult041956 (talk) 23:21, 27 November 2007 (UTC)

Bad precision
I just made a few edits to this page. I replaced the uses of thinsp with nbsp, because nbsp is the recommendation of WP:MOSNUM and thinsp doesn't show up properly in IE 6. I also used convert extensively to provide good unit conversions. I noticed something odd. It appears that throughout the article, but especially in the "All balloons" section, someone took a bunch of highly imprecise measurements in feet (for example, 72,000 ft), and converted them to kilometers with a precision of three decimal places. This is misleading and needs to be fixed, but first we need the original sources. Does anyone know where this information came from? TomTheHand (talk) 16:29, 28 November 2007 (UTC)


 * Ah, I should have looked before I added my section below. Tom is right.  For example, the Russians claim Osoaviakhim-1 flew to 22,000 meters.  Clearly that got converted to feet, rounded, and back to meters to get 21,946.  DonPMitchell (talk) 05:29, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

Fedotov
> The highest altitude obtained by a manned air-breathing jet propelled aircraft following an uncontrolled ballistic trajectory is 37,650 m (123,524 ft) set by Alexandr Fedotov, in a Mikoyan Gurevitch E-266M (MiG-25M), on 31 August 1977. <

This looks like bogus. FAI regulations dertermine maximum altitude as the altitude where the air plane's capability to climb further falls below 0.5 meters/second, therefore you cannot set a record by a "jump arc" started from a high-speed run, you have to honestly climb there. 82.131.210.162 (talk) 10:18, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

Balloon Data FUBAR
You'd be amazed by how many different values for these altitudes are given in different sources. Hawthorne Gray's record has been reported as:

43380 feet (wikipedia) 42470 feet (britannica) 42000 feet (centennial of flight) 42740 feet National USAF Museum (note swapped digits)

For Piccard's May 27 flight:

15787 meters (wikipedia) 15781 meters (britannica) 15838 meters (centennial of flight) 15787 meters (centennial of flight, another page on their site!)

You know the old saying about Wired Magazine: "Wired: Spell Checking. Tired: Fact Checking". OK, so I decided to dig into a few of these, because I got curious if one can even pin down the "correct" answer:

Nov 4, 1927 - Hawthorn Gray - 42470 feet (NAA/Bureau of Standards inspection of barometer)

May 27, 1931 - A. Piccard - 15781 meters (Aero Club of Switzerland official report)

Aug 18, 1932 - A. Piccard - 16201 meters (Aero Club of Switzerland official report)

Sep 30, 1933 - CCCP-1 - 19 km (Oct 16 report, Special Committee drawn from various agencies)

Jan 30, 1934 - Osoaviakhim-1 - 22 km (Soviet report) (again I do not believe there exist legitamate reports of higher precision)

Nov 10, 1935 - Explorer II - 72395 feet (NAA/Bureau of Standards report)

I don't even know how to edit this improved data into the cock-eyed table in this article. It appears they have to be converted to kilometers first. DonPMitchell (talk) 21:23, 12 August 2008 (UTC)


 * OK, I tried changing


 * 13.222 km


 * to


 * 42470 ft


 * and it explodes:


 * 42,470 ft ( km)

General Atomics Altus II
How about the General Atomics ALTUS II, it reached an altitude of 57,300' and was powered by a 4 cylinder Rotax with a two stage turbocharger. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Atomics_ALTUSRatsbew (talk) 15:54, 30 March 2009 (UTC)

Wiley Post altitude record?
I have read that the great American flier Wiley Post had reached an altitude of 50,000 feet in his modified Lockheed Vega 5-C "Winnie Mae" way back in 1934. If this is true, wouldn't that be another altitude record?

76.21.37.87 (talk) 23:02, 27 May 2009 (UTC)

Consistent table dates
The dates in the table are in various formats. I recommend standardizing them to the ISO 8601 format (yyyy-mm-dd), consistent with the wiki style as being used elsewhere. If there are no objections, I will go ahead and make the fix. 99.59.154.149 (talk) 19:18, 3 October 2009 (UTC)

Helicopters/rotorcraft
There are no records here for helicopter flight, and I can't find any other article that covers them. --Dhartung | Talk 05:01, 15 November 2009 (UTC)

Yes - I was looking for the same thing but could not find anything. --Murfas —Preceding undated comment added 13:14, 9 December 2009 (UTC).


 * Chapter is now added Roidroid (talk) 15:40, 30 April 2010 (UTC)

Piston-driven propeller aeroplane
isn't it the grob Strato 2C with 18100 meters? http://www.dlr.de/ft/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-1388/1918_read-3386/ —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.229.96.5 (talk) 14:54, 13 February 2010 (UTC)

Space Shuttle, or X-15 and SpaceShipOne need to go
SpaceShipOne and the X-15 are less worthy than the Space Shuttle. Both are dropped by other vehicles; they do not take off under their own power. The Space Shuttle merely has JATO and a drop tank. It definitely takes off under its own power. 208.118.18.233 (talk) 07:41, 4 December 2010 (UTC)

—Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.231.162.212 (talk) 19:25, 24 January 2011 (UTC)

Additional data from Bell X-2, Douglas D-558 and NAA X-15 (50s and early 60s)
92.231.162.212 (talk) 19:49, 24 January 2011 (UTC) hello there,

I am missing all altitude records made by the Bell X-1, Douglas D-558 and Bell X-2 from the late 40s to the 50s. In addition some records made by the X-15 in the early 60s are missing as well. I give data and sources here asking for acknowledgement, but I agree it may be useful (necessary?) to rework the entire list.

Data (the date is given in European format dd.mm.yyyy)

Date      Pilot                        Altitude       aircraft remark

25.07.1949 Frank Everest           66,890 ft 20,388 m Bell X-1

04.08.1949 Frank Everest           71,950 ft 21,930 m Bell X-1

20.11.1953 Albert Scott Crossfield 71,850 ft 21,900 m D-558-II

03.08.1956 Ivan C. Kincheloe       87,810 ft 26,764 m Bell X-2  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.231.162.212 (talk) 19:59, 24 January 2011 (UTC)

07.09.1956 Ivan C. Kincheloe      126,200 ft 38,466 m Bell X-2 † F-104-Crash 26.7.1958

12.08.1960 Robert M. “Bob” White  136,500 ft 41,605 m NAA X-15

30.03.1961 Joseph A. “Joe” Walker 169,600 ft 51,694 m NAA X-15

11.10.1961 Robert M. “Bob” White  217,000 ft 66,142 m NAA X-15

30.04.1962 Joseph A. “Joe” Walker 246,700 ft 75,194 m NAA X-15

Sources (could be verified at ebay, amazon or abebooks)

Melvyn Smith	“Space Shuttle, from X-15 to Orbiter”,	Haynes Pubns, 1986.

J Miller, C Yeager	“X planes”,	Arlington Aerofax, 1988.

Reichl, Eugen	„X-Planes“,	Motorbuch-Verlag, 2009.

Darling, Kev	“American X and Y planes II (since 1945)”,	Crowood Pr, 2010.

Thompson, Milton	“At the Edge of Space: The X-15 Flight Program”,	Smithsonian, 1992.

In addition, there is a list of all X-2 and X-15 flights given here at wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_X-15_flights http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_X-2_flights http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_X-1_flights best regards, Wolfgang.

PS.: Sorry to the previous poster here - for an unknown reason my post was added to the previous one, although I had clicked "New section". I am not quite familiar with the proceeding here ... apologizing, Wolfgang. 92.231.162.212 (talk) 19:49, 24 January 2011 (UTC)

corrected data from X-1/D-558-II/X-2 and X-15
85.177.171.118 (talk) 19:17, 25 January 2011 (UTC)

Pls find below corrected data to the best of my knowledge.

Plane	Date	Pilot	Altitude ft	height m	miles

X-1	25.07.1949	Frank Pete Everest	66,890	20,388

X-1	04.08.1949	Frank Pete Everest	71,950	21,930

D-558-2	15.08.1951	William Bill Bridgeman	79,494	24,230

D-558-2	21.08.1953	Marion Eugene Carl 	83,235	25,370

X-2	03.08.1956	Ivan Carl Kincheloe	87,810	26,764

X-2	07.09.1956	Ivan Carl Kincheloe	126,200	38,466

X-15	12.08.1960	Robert M. Bob White	136,500	41,605

X-15	30.03.1961	Joseph A. Joe Walker	169,600	51,694

X-15	11.10.1961	Robert M. Bob White	217,000	66,142

X-15	30.04.1962	Joseph A. Joe Walker	246,700	75,194

X-15	17.07.1962	Robert M. Bob White	314,750	95,936	59.6

X-15	19.07.1963	Joseph A. Joe Walker	347,800	106,009	65.9

X-15	22.08.1963	Joseph A. Joe Walker	354,200	107,960	67.1

regards, W.

85.177.171.118 (talk) 19:17, 25 January 2011 (UTC)

Some new data added
85.177.169.159 (talk) 21:21, 1 February 2011 (UTC)

Some new data taken from Jay Miller "The X-Planes", Speciality Press, 1983.

28.05.1954	Arthur Murray	87,100	26,548

04.06.1954	Arthur Murray	89,750	27,356

26.08.1954	Arthur Murray	90,440	27,566

regards, W.

F 104
I am surprised that no one has enter the record of the F-104. On 7 May 1958 US Air Force Major Howard C. Johnson, flying YF-104A 55-2957, broke the world altitude record by flying to 91,243 feet at Edwards AFB.[47]

The Apollo CM
What about the Apollo Command Module and it's pilots that exceeded an altitude of 384,400 kilometers (238,855 miles)?

Altitude Record with Minimal Payload
I know an altitude record is an altitude record and the highest wins, but doesn't it seem worth noting that a similar Helium balloon with the same volume of gas made it just about as high (4km lower) as the record holder WITH a 1,500lb payload on August 26th, 2002, 3 months later?

At the time, NASA considered this balloon to be the altitude record holder. http://www.bartol.udel.edu/~clem/nasapl.txt

The balloon that set the "record" had a total mass of 39.77kg Just sayin' Weaponofmassinstruction (talk) 19:43, 5 August 2012 (UTC)

173.67.242.156 (talk) 12:35, 30 March 2012 (UTC)Moi

Nick Piantanida
Is there are any reference for Piantanida's supposed 37,643m ascent, as listed at the bottom of the "All Balloons" section? The reason I'm querying is that I'm watching Felix Baumgartner's ascent, and the only previous record being mentioned is Ross & Prather's, and Baumgartner is said to have broken the record at less than 36,000m. There's also this page http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Lighter_than_air/20th_cent_records-2/LTA12.htm which says Piantanida died after falling into a coma during an ascent in 1965! David (talk) 17:39, 14 October 2012 (UTC)


 * Nevermind, I found the answer. His ascent isn't recognised because he returned without the balloon (although that's what Baumgartner's going to do, too!) David (talk) 17:46, 14 October 2012 (UTC)

In order for a record to be homologated, the local arm of the FAI must be involved. The would-be record setter must make a declaration of the attempt, and FAI (NAA in the US) certified judges must be present to witness the event. In cases involving altitude attempts, sealed recording barometric devices need to be in the aircraft. These are unsealed and read by FAI (NAA) certified officials after the attempt has been made. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.178.147.123 (talk) 18:34, 14 October 2012 (UTC)

Regarding the 1966 entry for Nicholas Piantanida, it's correct that he was unable to reconnect his safety harness. He braced himself for the descent before disconnecting from the balloon. But the additional comment that he "endured very great G forces" seems peculiar. It was a free fall, after separating the gondola from the balloon, so G forces shouldn't have been an issue, except when the gondola's parachute opened, perhaps. Although I recollect that wasn't as stressful as he expected. I'll double-check the account in "Magnificent Failure: Free Fall From the Edge of Space" when I get the chance. Catrachos (talk) 18:53, 25 March 2015 (UTC)

mike field altitude record fraud
https://books.google.com/books?id=fVD3Sdv0mv4C&pg=PA161&lpg=PA161&dq=mike+field+altitude+fraud&source=bl&ots=XHFaca_s5h&sig=7ZrbRTCWJoQApHD6b1j4OxYS_Jc&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjVz_S_1oXQAhWI24MKHei0CIoQ6AEIHDAA#v=onepage&q=mike%20field%20altitude%20fraud&f=false

I remember back in 77 Mike Field claimed an altitude record that was declared fraudulent.

Are there any proper entries for this? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Patbahn (talk • contribs) 18:32, 31 October 2016 (UTC)

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LUSAC11 can’t reach such altitude
This type of engine could never reach such altitude because of very thin atmosphere in that height. Moreover, the geometric structure of the wings can’t make it either. Jcaspi (talk) 06:27, 15 October 2017 (UTC)

External links modified (January 2018)
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Suspicious rotorcraft altitude record
Just happened to catch my eye as I had this page and the page on the Aérospatiale SA 315B Lama open at the same time. The claim of a new record by Fred North looks suspicious since it includes a link to his personal web site instead of the FAI. As best as I can tell from searching the FAI site, the 1972 record by Jean Boulet still stands. Edit was made on 2019/01/28. 198.166.92.192 (talk) 10:12, 11 January 2020 (UTC)

Removed. A clear attempt at a vanity entry.196.24.216.2 (talk) 11:22, 3 May 2022 (UTC)

Gray's altitude record
This page provides Hawthorne C. Gray's achieved altitude as 43380 ft. This link however states that his highest altitude reached is 42470 ft. The page Hawthorne C. Gray states that Gray reached the latter altitude during his previous record ascent, while the link claims that during his previous ascent he reached 42241 ft. A source in the page about Gray states that both times he reached 42470 ft which is obviously a mistake by the source author. I wonder which source is most reliable, whether Gray reached the 42470 ft altitude in May or in November 1927 and if he reached the altitude given in this page. Gray's November flight must have been officially documented in America. 2001:4BC9:A47:2B12:B96B:C754:D941:F231 (talk) 07:47, 24 March 2023 (UTC)