How fast do airplanes go?

Answer 1

it depends on where they are headed but usually 500 mph.

Answer 2

With engines stopped and sitting on the tarmac, their speed is zero. When flying, then it varies greatly. General aviation (single piston engines, propeller driven) aircraft cruise at around 100 mph.

Turboprop commuter airplane are good for 400 mph.

Jet airplane (business, regional jet, airliners) would cruise at 33000 ft and above, and would go between M 0.77 and 0.85, usually, although some fast airplane make a point of having a higher top speed which comes with range reduction. This could be M 0.89 to M 0.92 in the most extreme case.

Concorde flew at M 2.2 (and by the way "006" above got it wrong. A F/A-18 tops at Mach 1.8)

Military aricraft speed can vary a lot. The latest F22 Raptor is quoted with a maximum speed of Mach 2.42 (that is done by using postcombustion that greatlky reduces range). Without reheat, thanks to its supercruise capability, it can fly at M 1.72.

The Russian MiG25 was perhaps the fastest operationally deployed fighter, with a top speed of M 2.83, although it is believed some variants could top Mach 3.

Other airplane in the M 3 class:

the awesome SR71 spy plane (and the other variants based ont he same basic design, the A12 and the YF-12A). The SR71 is billed with a maximum speed of M 3.3+ at 80000 ft altitude.

the gigantic XB-70 Valkyrie (only 2 prototypes were assembled, one was lost in a crash after a mid air collision during a photo shoot) which was intended to be a long range supersonic bomber with a top speed of Mach 3.1 The project was abandonned in 1967.


Then, there is the air-lauched hypersonic rocket powered research aircraft X-15, which on October 3 1967 reached Mach 6.85. And the X-43, an unmanned air launched scramjet powered scale model of what could be a hypersonic aircraft of the future, designed to study ramjet combustion, reached the speed of M 9.8 on November 16 2004 (the flight lasted just a few seconds at that speed) after being accelerated by a Pegasus rocket.

Ultimately, the fastest airplane might be the space shuttle orbiter, during re-entry. At the moment it enters the upper layer of the atmosphere, it is theoretically going at Mach 25.

So, take your pick. There are many categories of airplane with various capabilities, because they have different missions to do.

Answer 3

It ranges from around 80 or so with some of the smallest ultralights to more than 3.5 (Mach 3.5) times the speed of sound with the SR-71. And more than 6 times the speed of sound (Mach 6) with some of the fastest rocket powered planes.
-Duo
btw the speed of sound at sea level is around 740 or so mph.

Answer 4

depends on the airplane. An F/A 18 goes faster than a concorde, which goes faster than a 747, which goes faster than a crop duster.

Most commercial jets cruise at about 600mph

Answer 5

... as fast as the pilot wants it to go ... within the manufacturer's limitations for that airframe (Vmo).

Vmo/mmo - maximum operating limit speed.

V speeds are nearly always given as Indicated Airspeed (IAS), so that pilots can read them directly off the airspeed indicator (ASI). ASIs carry color-coded markings that give the pilot an immediate reference, as follows:

Vno - top of green and bottom of yellow arcs. The yellow arc is a caution, as speeds in this region may add dangerous stress to the aircraft, and are only to be used in smooth air when no turbulence or abrupt control inputs are expected.

Answer 6

most commerical airliners will go just below the sonic boom. people don't like it when large planes flying overhead do this cuz it sounds really loud. fastest plane was around mach 3 I believe.

Answer 7

Over 400 mph

Good luck.

Answer 8

up to 600 mph with tailwind

Answer 9

usually travel at about 500mph but can go faster or slower depending on weather

Answer 10

most over 200 MPH