What is the fastest plane in the world?



  1. 0 Votes

    It is the X-43, a plane by NASA.  On November 16, 2004, it reached Mach 9.6 on a flight.  That is 7,000 miles per hour!  It should be mentioned it runs off a rocket engine so arguably it can be considered as a rocket instead of a plane though.

  2. 0 Votes

    The SR-71, also known as the Blackbird, is the world’s fastest jet-powered and piloted plane. It is said to have reached Mach 3.2 and an altitude of 16.1 miles.

    The X-43 is the world’s fastest unmanned plane in the world. It is an unmanned scramjet that is launched from a B-52 at about 40,000 ft in the air. According to NASA, the X-43 reached Mach 9.6 but there are claims that it reached Mach 9.8.

    The X-15 is also considered the world’s fastest plane; however, it is powered by a rocket engine not a jet engine. Like the X-43, it is launched from a B-52 and has reached speeds of Mach 6.8. It has also made altitude records by reaching 67 miles on August 22, 1963. This earned some of its pilots the designation of “astronaut” by the USAF.

  3. 0 Votes

    It also might be important to note the world’s fastest passenger jets. The Cessna Citation X, as of 2007, was ranked by Forbes as the fastest passenger jet in the world with speeds of 700 mph. It is a private business jet that can seat seven. Other highly ranking planes were of similar size and can seat around ten or so, including the Falcon 7x, the Gulfstream G550, and the Gulfstream G500.  

    Prior, the Concorde, a turbojet-powered supersonic plane was in commercial use for over 25 years. There were only twenty aircrafts, so flights were rare, and after a crash in 2000, the plane was retired in 2003. The Concorde could cross the Atlantic in 3.5 hours. 

Please signup or login to answer this question.
