Jet aircrafts are the aircrafts that uses jet in it in order to fly. These kinds of aircrafts are usually faster than the normal aircrafts and they also fly at higher altitudes, generally around 10000-15000 meters. There are also some aircrafts that travel faster than sound. The concept of jet aircrafts was developed by two engineers named Frank Whittle of UK and Hans von Ohain of Germany in the late 1930s. There was also a paper written by A. A. Griffith in 1926 on the same so he also shares some credit over the development of concept of jet aircrafts. The list of top 10 jet aircrafts of the world is as follows:
10. Tupolev Tu- 144:
This was the world’s first ever supersonic jet aircraft. It used to have a speed of 2.35 Mach which is equivalent to 1550 mph. This aircraft was the fastest commercial airliner of the world that has ever been on earth. This aircraft however being the first was not that successful as compared to the other aircrafts. This aircraft was last seen in 1978 after which it was no longer used for services.
9. F 15 Eagle:
This aircraft is a twin-engine aircraft used to fight tactically in each kind of weather. This aircraft is very successful in the present times. This aircraft has won around 100 aerial combats without losing any. The speed of this aircraft is 2.5 Mach. It took its first flight in 1972 and was introduced to everyone in 1976. This aircraft was manufactured by McDonnell Douglas and is used as an air superiority fighter.
8. MIG 31 ‘Foxhound’:
This is a supersonic aircraft which was developed by Mikoyan. This aircraft was developed to replace the MIG 25. This aircraft has a speed of 2.83 Mach at high altitudes and a speed of 1.2 Mach at lower altitudes. It has a rate of climbing of 208m/s. It has a ferry radius of 3300 km. Thus this jet aircraft has been able to achieve a very high speed even at low altitudes and is used by various countries.
7. Bell X2 Star buster:
There were only 2 aircrafts built of this type. These aircrafts can go up to a speed of 3.1 Mach. This was used as a research aircraft. It took its first flight on 18 November 1955 and was only used till 27 September 1956. It has a service ceiling of 126200 ft.
6. XB-70 Valkyrie:
This aircraft was in use for 5 yrs. This aircraft had a speed of 3.1 Mach. This took its first flight on 21 September 1964 and was used last on 4 Feb 1969. Its primary users were US air force and NASA. This aircraft was used as a strategic bomber as well as a supersonic research aircraft. Its cruise speed is 3 Mach. It has a range of 3.725 nmi on combat mission. It has a service ceiling of 77350 ft. This aircraft was considered the best of its time and is still one of the fastest aircraft of all times.
5. MIG 25 Foxbat:
This is a supersonic aircraft which was used as an interceptor and reconnaissance aircraft. This was among one the fastest military aircraft to enter service. It has a speed of 3.2 Mach. It took its first flight in 1964 and was introduced in 1970. There were a total number of 1186 aircrafts built till date. This aircraft with its great masterpiece and performance made its place in the top 10 fastest aircrafts.
4. SR-71 Blackbird:
This aircraft was used for Strategic reconnaissance aircraft. It took its first flight in 1964 and after a providing a service of 4 decades retired in 1998. It had a speed of 3.5 Mach. It was developed by the Lockheed Skunk Works. It has a range of 5400 kms and a service ceiling of 85000 ft. This aircraft also has a climb rate of 11810 ft/min.
3.X-15:
There are a total of 3 aircrafts of its kind. This aircraft was built in 1959 by North American Aviation and it retired in 1970. It was used as an experimental high speed research aircraft. This aircraft was used by Neil Armstrong and many other famouos names. This can attain a maximum speed of 6.72 Mach. It has a service ceiling of 354,330 ft.
2. X 43 A:
This aircraft is known as the fastest aircraft on the earth. However this aircraft is not as fast as the space shuttle but still among the aircrafts of the planet, it set a record of 9.8 Mach in 2004 as the fastest speed attained ever by an aircraft. This aircraft is no doubt the fastest aircraft on earth.
1. Space Shuttle:
Space Shuttle is the fastest aircraft working on jet fuel. It can achieve up to a speed of 20 Mach. There have been a total no of 135 of its launches out of which 133 were successful. It has 2 boosters. This spacecraft is an orbital spacecraft which was designed by the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration for human spaceflight missions. It took its first flight on April 12, 1981 and its last flight took place on July 21, 2011.
Thus we are now familiar with the world’s fastest aircrafts ever built. With advancement in technology there is a lot of scope for faster aircrafts in future.
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