Mar 10 2009
New Air-speed Record Set on this day in History
On this day in 1956, at the Royal Naval Air Station near Chichester, England, pilot Peter Twiss shatters the previous air speed flying record. He pushed the limits by 310 miles per hour to 1.132.13 mph in a Fairey Delta Two Turbojet.
The first air speed record that was set belongs to Wilbur Wright when he took the first flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina in 1903, when he flew the Wright Flyer – his speed was 6.82 mph. Wilbur Wright flew again in 1905 on the Wright Flyer III and he increased his speed to 37.85 mph.
The fastest flight to be recorded for a manned jet aircraft is held by Eldon Joersz when he flew the SR-71 Blackbird at 2,188 mph. This aircraft is an advanced, long range strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed by Lockheed Martin. The SR-71 served from 1964 to 1998.
Big difference in those speeds. Of course in school I only learned about the Wright Brothers not Peter Twiss.