# Flight airspeed record

An air speed record is the highest airspeed attained by an aircraft of a particular class. The rules for all official aviation records are defined by Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), which also ratifies any claims. Speed records are divided into a number of classes with sub-divisions. There are three classes of aircraft: landplanes, seaplanes, and amphibians, and within these classes there are records for aircraft in a number of weight categories. There are still further subdivisions for piston-engined, turbojet, turboprop, and rocket-engined aircraft. Within each of these groups, records are defined for speed over a straight course and for closed circuits of various sizes carrying various payloads.

## Timeline

Gray text indicates unofficial records, including unconfirmed or unpublicized war secrets.
| Date | Pilot | Airspeed | Airspeed | Airspeed | Location | Notes |
| Date | Pilot | mph | km/h | Aircraft | Location | Notes |
| 17 December 1903 | Wilbur Wright | 6.82 | 10.98 | Wright Flyer | Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, US | This figure is groundspeed, not airspeed. The Wrights' first flight covered just over 120 ft (37 m) and about 12 seconds into a gusty wind. The Wrights estimated airspeed at 31 mph (50 km/h). |
| 5 October 1904 | Wilbur Wright | 37.85 | 60.23 | Wright Flyer III | Huffman Prairie, Ohio, US | |
| 12 November 1906 | Alberto Santos-Dumont | 25.65 | 41.292 | Santos-Dumont 14-bis | Bagatelle Castle, Paris, France | First officially recognized airspeed record.$^{:7}$ |
| 26 October 1907 | Henri Farman | 32.73 | 52.700 | Voisin-Farman I | Issy-les-Moulineaux, France | $^{:9}$ |
| 25 May 1909 | Paul Tissandier | 34.04 | 54.810 | Wright Model A | Pau, France | $^{:11}$ |
| 23 August 1909 | Glenn Curtiss | 44.367 | 69.821 | Curtiss No. 2 | Reims, France | 1909 Gordon Bennett Cup.$^{:37–38}$ |
| 24 August 1909 | Louis Blériot | 46.160 | 74.318 | Blériot XI | Reims, France | $^{:13}$ |
| 28 August 1909 | Louis Blériot | 47.823 | 76.995 | Blériot XI | Reims, France | $^{:13}$ |
| 23 April 1910 | Hubert Latham | 48.186 | 77.579 | Antoinette VII | Nice, France | $^{:18}$ |
| 10 July 1910 | Léon Morane | 66.154 | 106.508 | Blériot | Reims, France | $^{:13}$ |
| 29 October 1910 | Alfred Leblanc | 68.171 | 109.756 | Blériot XI | New York, New York, US | $^{:13}$ |
| 12 April 1911 | Alfred Leblanc | 69.442 | 111.801 | Blériot | Pau, France | $^{:14}$ |
| 11 May 1911 | Édouard Nieuport | 73.385 | 119.760 | Nieuport IIN | Châlons, France | $^{:25}$ |
| 12 June 1911 | Alfred Leblanc | 77.640 | 125.000 | Blériot | | |
| 16 June 1911 | Édouard Nieuport | 80.781 | 130.057 | Nieuport IIN | Châlons, France | $^{:25}$ |
| 21 June 1911 | Édouard Nieuport | 82.693 | 133.136 | Nieuport IIN | Châlons, France | $^{:25}$ |
| 13 January 1912 | Jules Védrines | 87.68 | 145.161 | Deperdussin Monocoque | Pau, France | $^{:27}$ |
| 22 February 1912 | Jules Védrines | 100.18 | 161.290 | Deperdussin Monocoque | Pau, France | $^{:27}$ |
| 29 February 1912 | Jules Védrines | 100.90 | 162.454 | Deperdussin Monocoque | Pau, France | $^{:27}$ |
| 1 March 1912 | Jules Védrines | 103.62 | 166.821 | Deperdussin Monocoque | Pau, France | $^{:27}$ |
| 2 March 1912 | Jules Védrines | 104.29 | 167.910 | Deperdussin Monocoque | Pau, France | $^{:27}$ |
| 13 July 1912 | Jules Védrines | 106.07 | 170.777 | Deperdussin Monocoque | Reims, France | $^{:27}$ |
| 9 September 1912 | Jules Védrines | 108.14 | 174.100 | Deperdussin Monocoque | Chicago, Illinois, US | $^{:27}$ |
| 17 June 1913 | Maurice Prévost | 111.69 | 179.820 | Deperdussin Monocoque | Reims, France | $^{:31}$ |
| 27 September 1913 | Maurice Prévost | 119.19 | 191.897 | Deperdussin Monocoque | Reims, France | $^{:31}$ |
| 29 September 1913 | Maurice Prévost | 126.61 | 203.850 | Deperdussin Monocoque | Reims, France | $^{:31}$ |
| 1914 | Norman Spratt | 134.5 | 216.5 | Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.4 | | Unofficial |
| August 1918 | Roland Rohlfs | 163 | 262.3 | Curtiss Wasp | | Not officially recognised.$^{:140}$ |
| 1919 | Joseph Sadi-Lecointe | 191.1 | 307.5 | Nieuport-Delage NiD 29V | | Not officially recognised. |
| 7 February 1920 | Joseph Sadi-Lecointe | 171.0 | 275.264 | Nieuport-Delage NiD 29V | Villacoublay, France. | First official record post World War 1.$^{:33}$ |
| 28 February 1920 | Jean Casale | 176.1 | 283.464 | SPAD S.20bis | Villacoublay, France. | $^{:37}$ |
| 9 October 1920 | Bernard de Romanet | 181.8 | 292.682 | SPAD S.20bis | Buc, France | $^{:37}$ |
| 10 October 1920 | Joseph Sadi-Lecointe | 184.3 | 296.694 | Nieuport-Delage NiD 29V | Buc, France | $^{:33}$ |
| 20 October 1920 | Joseph Sadi-Lecointe | 187.9 | 302.529 | Nieuport-Delage NiD 29V | Villacoublay, France | $^{:33}$ |
| 4 November 1920 | Bernard de Romanet | 191.9 | 309.012 | SPAD S.XX | Buc, France | |
| 12 December 1920 | Joseph Sadi-Lecointe | 194.4 | 313.043 | Nieuport-Delage NiD 29V | Villacoublay, France | $^{:33}$ |
| 26 September 1921 | Joseph Sadi-Lecointe | 205.2 | 330.275 | Nieuport-Delage Sesquiplan | Ville Sauvage, France | $^{:39}$ |
| 13 October 1922 | Billy Mitchell | 222.88 | 358.836 | Curtiss R | Detroit, Michigan, US | |
| 18 October 1922 | Billy Mitchell | 224.28 | 360.93 | Curtiss R-6 | Selfridge Field, Detroit, Michigan, US | $^{:41}$$^{:232–3}$ |
| 15 February 1923 | Joseph Sadi-Lecointe | 232.91 | 375.00 | Nieuport-Delage NiD 42S | Istres, France | |
| 29 March 1923 | 1st Lt. Russell L. Maughan | 236.587 | 380.74 | Curtiss R-6 | Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio, US | $^{:41}$$^{:233}$ |
| 2 November 1923 | Lt. Harold J. Brow | 259.16 | 417.07 | Curtiss R2C-1 | Mineola, New York, US | $^{:43}$$^{:235}$ |
| 4 November 1923 | Lt. Alford J. Williams | 266.59 | 429.02 | Curtiss R2C-1 | Mineola, New York, US | $^{:43}$$^{:235}$ |
| 11 November 1924 | Florentin Bonnet [fr] | 278.37 | 448.171 | Bernard-Ferbois V.2 | | |
| 4 November 1927 | Mario de Bernardi | 297.70 | 479.290 | Macchi M.52 seaplane | Venice, Italy | Database ID 11828 |
| 30 March 1928 | Mario de Bernardi | 318.620 | 512.776 | Macchi M.52bis seaplane | Venice, Italy | Database ID 11827 |
| August 1929 | Giuseppe Motta | 362.0 | 582.6 | Macchi M.67 seaplane | | Unofficial |
| 10 September 1929 | George H. Stainforth | 336.3 | 541.4 | Gloster VI seaplane | Calshot, UK | Database ID 11829 |
| 12 September 1929 | Augustus Orlebar | 357.7 | 575.5 | Supermarine S.6 seaplane | Calshot, UK | Database ID 11830 |
| 13 September 1931 | George H. Stainforth | 407.5 | 655.8 | Supermarine S.6 seaplane | Lee-on-the-Solent, UK | Database ID 11831 |
| 10 April 1933 | Francesco Agello | 423.6 | 682.078 | Macchi M.C.72 seaplane | Desenzano del Garda, Italy | Database ID 11836 |
| 23 October 1934 | Francesco Agello | 440.5 | 709.209 | Macchi M.C.72 seaplane | Desenzano del Garda, Italy | Database ID 4497, current piston-engined seaplane speed record. |
| 13 September 1935 | Howard Hughes | 354.4 | 567.12 | Hughes H-1 Racer | Santa Ana, California, US | FAI Database ID 8748 |
| 11 November 1937 | Dr. Hermann Wurster | 379.63 | 610.95 | Messerschmitt Bf 109 V.13 | Augsburg, Germany | FAI Database ID 8747 |
| 30 March 1939 | Hans Dieterle | 466.6 | 746.60 | Heinkel He 100 V8 | Oranienburg, Germany | FAI Database ID 8744 |
| 26 April 1939 | Fritz Wendel | 469.220 | 755.138 | Messerschmitt Me 209 V1 | Augsburg, Germany | Piston-engined record until 1969 |
| 2 October 1941 | Heini Dittmar | 623.65 | 1,003.67 | Messerschmitt Me 163A "V4" | Peenemünde-West, Germany | Rocket powered – World War II secret, not an Official FAI record but over the 3 km (1.9 mi) FAI distance$^{:122}$ |
| 1944 | Heinz Herlitzius | 624 | 1,004 | Messerschmitt Me 262 S2 | Leipheim, Germany | World War II secret, not an Official FAI record. Steep dive.$^{:122}$ |
| 6 July 1944 | Heini Dittmar | 702 | 1,130 | Messerschmitt Me 163B "V18" | Lagerlechfeld, Germany | Rocket powered – World War II secret, not an Official FAI record. Dive, details unknown.$^{:122}$ |
| 7 November 1945 | H. J. Wilson | 606.4 | 975.9 | Gloster Meteor F Mk.4 | Herne Bay, UK | EE454 Britannia, first official record post World War II.$^{:107}$ |
| 7 September 1946 | Edward Mortlock Donaldson | 615.78 | 990.79 | Gloster Meteor F Mk.4 | Littlehampton, UK | EE530, a long-span Mk 4.$^{:107}$ |
| 19 June 1947 | Col. Albert Boyd | 623.74 | 1,003.60 | Lockheed P-80R Shooting Star | Muroc (Edwards AFB), California, US | |
| 20 August 1947 | Cmdr. Turner Caldwell | 640.663 | 1,031.049 | Douglas D-558-1 Skystreak | Muroc (Edwards AFB), California, US | First record flight to exceed secret October 1941 Me 163A V4 figure |
| 25 August 1947 | Major Marion Eugene Carl USMC | 650.796 | 1,047.356 | Douglas D-558-1 Skystreak | Muroc (Edwards AFB), California, US | |
| 14 October 1947 | Chuck Yeager | 670.0 | 1,078 | Bell X-1 (flight #50) | Muroc, California, US | Rocket powered – Cold War secret, not an official FAI C-1 record |
| 6 November 1947 | Chuck Yeager | 891.0 | 1,434 | Bell X-1 (flight #58) | Muroc, California, US | Rocket powered – Cold War secret, not an official FAI C-1 record, first to exceed secret July 1944 Me 163B V18 record |
| 15 September 1948 | Maj. Richard L. Johnson, USAF | 670.84 | 1,079.6 | North American F-86A-3 Sabre | Cleveland, Ohio, US | |
| 18 November 1952 | J. Slade Nash | 698.505 | 1,124.13 | North American F-86D Sabre | Salton Sea, California, US | |
| 16 July 1953 | William Barnes | 715.745 | 1,151.88 | North American F-86D Sabre | Salton Sea, California, US | |
| 7 September 1953 | Neville Duke | 727.6 | 1,171 | Hawker Hunter Mk.3 | Littlehampton, UK | |
| 26 September 1953 | Mike Lithgow | 735.7 | 1,184 | Supermarine Swift F4 | Castel Idris, Tripoli, Libya | |
| 3 October 1953 | James B. Verdin, US Navy | 752.9 | 1,211.5 | Douglas F4D Skyray | Salton Sea, California, US | |
| 29 October 1953 | Frank K. Everest USAF | 755.1 | 1,215.3 | North American F-100 Super Sabre | Salton Sea, California, US | |
| 20 August 1955 | Horace A. Hanes | 822.1 | 1,323 | North American F-100C Super Sabre | Palmdale, California, US | |
| 10 March 1956 | Peter Twiss | 1,132 | 1,822 | Fairey Delta 2 | Chichester, UK | |
| 12 December 1957 | USAF | 1,207.6 | 1,943.5 | McDonnell F-101A Voodoo | Muroc, California, US | |
| 16 May 1958 | Capt. Walt Wayne Irwin, USF | 1,404.012 | 2,259.538 | Lockheed YF-104A Starfighter | Muroc, California, US | $^{:147}$ |
| 5 October 1959 | Maj. André Turcat | 1,441.6 | 2,320 | Nord 1500 Griffon | France | |
| 31 October 1959 | Col. Georgi Mosolov | 1,484 | 2,388 | Mikoyan-Gurevich Ye-6/3 or Ye-66 | USSR | |
| 15 December 1959 | Maj. Joseph Rogers, USAF | 1,525.9 | 2,455.7 | Convair F-106 Delta Dart | Muroc, California, US | The record should have gone to civilian (former military) pilot Charles Myers, who flew a Delta Dart at 2,485 kilometres per hour (1,544 mph) in 1959, but Cold War pressures dictated that the award go to an active-military pilot. |
| 22 November 1961 | Robert B. Robinson, US Navy | 1,606.3 | 2,585.1 | McDonnell-Douglas F4H-1F Phantom II | Muroc, California, US | $^{:165}$ |
| 7 July 1962 | Col. Georgi Mosolov | 1,665.9 | 2,681 | Mikoyan Gurevich Ye-166 | USSR | Name adopted for record attempt, a version of a Ye-152 a.k.a. E-166.$^{:179}$ |
| 1 May 1965 | Robert L. Stephens and Daniel Andre | 2,070.1 | 3,331.5 | Lockheed YF-12A | Muroc, California, US | |
| 28 July 1976 | Capt. Eldon W. Joersz (P) and Maj. George T. Morgan Jr. (RSO) | 2,193.2 | 3,529.6 | Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird #61-7958 | Beale AFB, US | |

## Official records versus unofficial

The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird holds the official Air Speed Record for a crewed airbreathing jet engine aircraft with a speed of 3,530 km/h (2,190 mph). The record was set on 28 July 1976 by Eldon W. Joersz and George T. Morgan Jr. near Beale Air Force Base, California, USA. It was able to take off and land unassisted on conventional runways. SR-71 pilot Brian Shul claimed in The Untouchables that he flew in excess of Mach 3.5 on 15 April 1986, over Libya, in order to avoid a missile.
Although the official record for fastest piston-engined aeroplane in level flight was held by a Grumman F8F Bearcat, the Rare Bear, with a speed of 850.23 km/h (528.31 mph), the unofficial record for fastest piston-engined aeroplane in level flight is held by a British Hawker Sea Fury at 880 km/h (547 mph). Both were demilitarised and modified fighters, while the fastest stock (original, factory-built) piston-engined aeroplane was unofficially the Supermarine Spiteful F Mk 16, which "achieved a speed of 494m.p.h. at 28,500ft during official tests at Boscombe Down" in level flight. The unofficial record for fastest piston-engined aeroplane (not in level flight) is held by a Supermarine Spitfire Mk.XIX flown by Flight Lieutenant Edward "Ted" Powles, which was calculated to have achieved a speed of 1,110 km/h (690 mph) in a dive on 5 February 1952.
The last new speed record ratified before the outbreak of World War II was set on 26 April 1939 with a Me 209 V1, at 755 km/h (469 mph). The chaos and secrecy of World War II meant that new speed breakthroughs were neither publicized nor ratified. In October 1941, an unofficial speed record of 1,004 km/h (624 mph) was secretly set by a Messerschmitt Me 163A "V4" rocket aircraft. Continued research during the war extended the secret, unofficial speed record to 1,130 km/h (700 mph) by July 1944, achieved by a Messerschmitt Me 163B "V18". The first new official record in the post-war period was achieved by a Gloster Meteor F Mk.4 in November 1945, at 975 km/h (606 mph). The first aircraft to exceed the unofficial October 1941 record of the Me 163A V4 was the Douglas D-558-1 Skystreak, which achieved 1,032 km/h (641 mph) in August 1947. The July 1944 unofficial record of the Me 163B V18 was officially surpassed in November 1947, when Chuck Yeager flew the Bell X-1 to 1,434 km/h (891 mph).
The official speed record for a seaplane moved by piston engine is 709.209 km/h (440.682 mph), which attained on 24 October 1934, by Francesco Agello in the Macchi-Castoldi M.C.72 seaplane ("idrocorsa") and it remains the current record. It was equipped with the Fiat AS.6 engine (version 1934) developing a power of 2,300 kW (3,100 hp) at 3,300 rpm, with coaxial counter-rotating propellers. The original record holding Macchi-Castoldi M.C.72 MM.181 seaplane is at the Air Force Museum at Vigna di Valle in Italy.

## Other air speed records

| Date | Pilot | Airspeed | Airspeed | Aircraft | Comments |
| Date | Pilot | mph | km/h | Aircraft | Comments |
| 2 October 1985 | Holger Rochelt | 27.54 | 44.32 | Musculair 2 | Fastest human-powered aircraft |
| 22 December 2006 | Klaus Ohlmann & Matias Garcia Mazzaro | 190.6 | 306.8 | Schempp-Hirth Nimbus-4DM | Fastest (non-powered) glider over 500 km |
| 11 August 1986 | Trevor Egginton | 249 | 400.87 | Westland Lynx | Fastest helicopter |
| 31 December 1988 | L.P. Krantov | 258.8 | 415 | Tupolev Tu-134A | Highest landing speed for a civil aircraft |
| 11 June 2013 | Hervé Jammayrac | 293 | 472 | Eurocopter X3 | Fastest propeller compound helicopter |
| 15 September 2010 | Kevin Bredenbeck | 299 | 481 | Sikorsky X2 | Fastest compound helicopter, shallow dive (unofficial) |
| 19 March 1989 | Unknown pilot | 316 | 509 | Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey | Tiltrotor |
| 15 April 1969 | Unknown pilot | 316 | 509 | Bell 533 | Compound jet helicopter |
| 19 November 2021 | Steve Jones | 345.4 | 555.9 | Rolls-Royce Accel ‘Spirit of Innovation’ | Fastest electric-only aeroplane |
| 6 February 2003 | Joseph J. Ritchie, Steve Fossett | 576.3 | 927.4 | Piaggio P.180 Avanti | Fastest propeller-driven aircraft of any type. |
| 2 September 2017 | Steve Hinton Jr. | 531.53 | 855.41 | P-51 "Voodoo" | Fastest straight-line piston-engined aircraft in level flight |
| 9 April 1960 | Ivan Sukhomlin, Konstantin Sapielkine | 545.07 | 877.21 | Tupolev Tu-114 | Fastest propeller-driven airliner-size aircraft, per FAI. Both Tu-116 and Tu-142 claim higher maximum speeds. |
| 5 February 1952 | Flight Lieutenant Edward Powles | 690 | 1,110.447 | Supermarine Spitfire PR.XIX PS852 | Reached (Mach 0.96) during an emergency dive while carrying out spying flights over China, the highest speed ever recorded for a piston-engined aircraft (though not in level flight). |
| 14 October 2012 | Felix Baumgartner | 844 | 1,358 | None (jumped from a helium balloon gondola) | Fastest unpowered descent of a human |
| 7 February 1996 | Captain Leslie Scott | 1,249 | 2,010 | Concorde | Fastest passenger plane on a regular route |
| 3 October 1967 | William 'Pete' Knight | 4,519 | 7,274 | North American X-15 | Rocket plane |
| 16 November 2004 | Uncrewed | 6,755 | 10,870 | NASA X-43A | Air-launched hypersonic scramjet; fastest free-flying air-breathing vehicle |
| 22 April 2010 | Uncrewed | 13,201 | 21,245 | HTV-2 Falcon | Air-launched hypersonic glider; fastest uncrewed aerial vehicle |
| 14 November 1981 | Joe H. Engle | 17,500 | 28,000 | Space Shuttle Columbia | Fastest manually controlled flight in atmosphere during atmospheric reentry of STS-2 mission. |
| 15 November 1988 | Uncrewed | 18,019 | 29,000 | Buran | The fastest unmanned (but capable of carrying up to 8-10 people) spaceplane ever built, weighing 100 tons or more. |
Flying between any two airports allow a large number of combinations, so setting a speed record ("speed over a recognised course") is fairly easy with an ordinary aircraft, although there are many administrative requirements for recognition.