Fastest Plane in the World

The word 'speed' has always fascinated mankind, and our craze to find out which is the fastest vehicle or animal in the world speaks volumes about our obsession with it. Irrespective of whether it's the fastest car or the fastest animal on the Earth, the superlative adjective 'fastest' does trigger an adrenaline rush in our body. When we talk about the fastest, we can't help but make a note of supersonic aircraft - i.e. the aircraft that travels at a speed higher than that of the sound.

Fastest Plane in the World: Methodology

In order to determine which is the fastest aircraft in the world, you need to take into consideration the fact that an aircraft can be manned as well as unmanned. In simple words, an aircraft is defined as a vehicle that can fly in the air. Going by this definition, the presence of human being inside it to guide it is not mandatory. Even though there do exist unmanned planes which are faster than their manned counterparts, it makes sense to take manned planes into consideration when calculating flight airspeed record.

Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird

The Lockheed SR-71 is an advanced, long range, Mach 3+ plane which was developed by the Lockheed Skunk Works. Mach 3+, in the above definition, signifies the ability of this aircraft to clock speeds that are three times the speed of sound. It was designed by the famous aircraft engineer Clarence "Kelly" Johnson. The plane took its first flight on 22nd December 1964. Over the period, 32 Lockheed SR-71s were manufactured, which were primarily used by the United States Air Force (USAF) and the NASA. In fact, its high speed and operating altitude acted as on of the defensive feature owing to which it became a popular choice in the United States Air Force.

On 28th July 1976, the Blackbird created a history by setting a new speed and altitude record with an amazing speed of 2,193.167 mph over a straight course, at an altitude of 85,068.997 ft in horizontal flight at the Beale Air Force Base, California, USA. The pilots of the Blackbird on this historical occasion were Capt. Eldon W. Joersz and Maj. George T. Morgan. No aircraft has since been able to break this record set by the Lockheed SR-71. It finally retired from service in 1988, but none of the aircraft which succeeded it were able to push it off the number 1 spot for the fastest planes in the world.

NASA X-43

An unmanned experimental hypersonic aircraft, NASA's X-43 has several airspeed records for jet propelled aircraft to its name. Unlike the other aircraft, X-43 doesn't take off from the land. Instead it is launched by a B-52 military aircraft at an altitude of around 40,000 feet. The X-43 became the fastest unmanned plane in the world on 16th November 2004, by clocking an unbelievable speed of Mach 9+. Even though NASA revealed that this aircraft powered by scramjet engine had clocked a speed of 9.6 mph, others claim that the aircraft had reached a speed of Mach 9.8 during the test run. In terms of speed 9 mach, i.e. 9 times faster than the speed of sound, is an amazing speed for any vehicle in any medium.

At the end of the day, the fastest plane in the world as of 2010 is the Lockheed SR-71 aka the Blackbird. There also exist the MiG fighter planes which have the ability of flying at a speed of Mach 2+. Even the Tupolev Tu-114, a propeller-driven aircraft, deserves a special mention among the fastest aircraft. As we undergo more technological advancements, we will be able to manufacture more of such engineering marvels with the ability to clock speeds that were never imagined before. However, that would be the future, and as of now, it is the Lockheed SR-71 - with no other contender anywhere close.