Fastest Civil aircraft

[Guest Shalomar]

Donny AKA ShalomarFly 2 ROCKS!!!As far as I know, with a redline of Mach .92 the 747 is the fastest airliner currently in service.What does the Citation X redline at? It actually cruises at .92, doesn't it? If the Citation X isn't the fastest civil passenger aircraft based entirely on Mach redline, what is? There is supposedly a Mach 1.5 Falcon bizjet in the works, but I just want those currently in service.No two seaters need apply!!!Best Regards, Donny:-wave

[Jeff Nielsen 1,385]

I thought the fastest civil jet now that the concord is gone was the CX. I also thought .98 in the dive was the fastest certified/tested on the CX but cruised at .96.

[Guest]

There are some civilian F100 Super Sabres, and I've seen a civilian Saab J35 Draken.

[Jeff Nielsen 1,385]

We're talking actual civilian models from the start.

[Guest Shalomar]

Donny AKA ShalomarFly 2 ROCKS!!!Yeah, civil. Plus I said no two seaters need apply!:-lol So it seems like Cessna- whooda thunk that would ever happen?Of course, for its class the 310 ain't no slouch either.Best Regards, Donny:-wave

[G7USL 117]

What about the 'Vickers VC-10' still used by the R.A.F. for their personel?It was the second fastest after Concorde.Dave T. .........On the lovely warm Devon Riviera and active 'FlightSim User's Group' member at http://www.flightsimgrpuk.free-online.co.uk/

[Guest]

Those aren't two seaters, they're single seaters :(If I'd included two seaters I'd have mentioned the NASA T-38s which can reach near Mach 2.You also nowhere claimed they must be initial civilian designs.

[Guest Shalomar]

Donny AKA ShalomarFly 2 ROCKS!!!Since when is a single seater a "passenger aircraft?"Maybe, if the pilot has multiple personality disorder, but isn't that stretching the definition?You're right, I didn't specifically mention civil designs from the ground up though:-) Best Regards, Donny:-wave

[Guest Shalomar]

Donny AKA ShalomarFly 2 ROCKS!!!Was that before or after the 747 and Citation X that it was the second fastest?If I'm not mistaken, some models of the Gulfstream Bizjets use the same engines.Can't award "fastest airliner" in service if no airliners are using it, but it still has a shot at "fastest civil passenger aircraft" since someone could possibly get their hands on it for a personal jet- AND it seats more than the rules of this thread call for:-)Do you know what Mach the VC-10 redlines at?Best Regards, Donny:-wave

[Guest]

they did experiment with pods under the wings of a Harrier to transport passengers (special forces troops actually) :)Not sure if that would have worked well under an F100, would have been quite a ride lying prone in a metal cylinder under the wing of a jet at Mach 2.

[G7USL 117]

>Donny AKA Shalomar>Do you know what Mach the VC-10 redlines at?>>Best Regards, Donny:-wave VNE on a VC-10 is Mach 0.94 according to my RAF source although they would never fly it that fast in reality and certainly not at it's current age. Some say the Trident was faster and of course there was the Russian "Concordski" but that never was in proper use only flying a test route for a short time I believe.Dave T. .........On the lovely warm Devon Riviera and active 'FlightSim User's Group' member at http://www.flightsimgrpuk.free-online.co.uk/

[michal 44]

Some folks on other aviation forums claim that Russian TU-154M is currently the fastest passenger jet in service. I think it's red line is about 10 to 20 kts faster than the 747. Michael J.WinXP-Home SP2,AMD64 3500+,Abit AV8,Radeon X800Pro,36GB Raptor,1GB PC3200,Audigy 2http://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/747400.jpghttp://www.hifisim.com/images/asv_beta_member.jpg

[Guest]

IAS maybe, but the 744 has a higher ceiling so it'll get you there faster :)

[michal 44]

Nope, its max TAS is faster, not talking about IAS.Michael J.WinXP-Home SP2,AMD64 3500+,Abit AV8,Radeon X800Pro,36GB Raptor,1GB PC3200,Audigy 2http://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/747400.jpghttp://www.hifisim.com/images/asv_beta_member.jpg

[KevinAu 441]

I'm confused now. You said "redline" at first. Now it is "true airspeed". Both are different things. If it is just a higher Vmo, then it may or may not be faster than something else depending on altitude and Mmo. To comparatively figure out how fast two civil jet airliners are to each other, the only way to compare is to have the VMo and Mmo figures.TAS is not a redline. TAS is some figure you've figured out for information purposes from the current conditions. I would place very little stock in those "maximum cruising speed" figures that you find in books and airliners.net because it is a variable thing and also you do not know whether or not that quoted brochure figure is actually at indicated speed limits. And also, higher does not necessarily mean faster either. The fastest point that a jet travels is when Vmo and Mmo are equal. Which is usually in the upper twenties for most planes. At higher altitudes, the Mmo limitation makes the plane slower as you go higher since the speed of sound decreases with temperature.The figures for the classic 747 are a Vmo of 390kias, Mmo of .92 Mach and a ceiling of FL450. The 747-400 has lower limitations. That would mean at a density altitude of FL230 on a standard day, the 747 classic maxes out at 560kts TAS. That is approximately where 390kias equals .92M. Any lower and the plane could have gone at a higher TAS, any higher and the plane would lose forward velocity from the Mmo limitation. This was figured from an old fashioned E-6B. If somebody has an electronic one, you are more than welcome to refine it. If somebody has the information for the Tu-154, then a factual comparison can be made, otherwise, the discussion is meaningless.