747 breaks record

[G-RFRY 1,708]

747 breaks transatlantic record.

 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-51433720

[vc10man 732]

Already been posted elsewhere  which is why I deleted my link too

[FDEdev 955]

This record is simply a by-product of the strong jetstream and hence they broke a record, but the British Airways PR nonsense in the linked article is hairraising.

[KevinAu 441]

Not official unless it’s here.

https://groundspeedrecords.com

[Matthew Kane 1,343]

The Concorde holds the record, I guess this is the 747 record?

[FDEdev 955]

31 minutes ago, Matthew Kane said:

The Concorde holds the record, I guess this is the 747 record?

It says for subsonic aircraft.

[Matthew Kane 1,343]

44 minutes ago, FDEdev said:

It says for subsonic aircraft.

Makes sense, nice that a 747 gets the title as they are now mostly being retired, add that to the list of titles for the Queen 😎

[jmdriskell 178]

The Atlantic jet stream has been used to set several ground speed records.  One record of special note was set by Charles F. Blair.  On 31 January 1951 Blair flew a red P-51C named Excalibur III equipped with long range internal fuel tanks non stop from New York to London riding the jet stream, traveling 3,478 miles (5,597 km) at an average speed of 446 miles per hour (718 km/h) in seven hours and 48 minutes setting a record for a single engine piston engine plane which still stands today.  This flight and his subsequent non-stop flight across the north pole from Norway to Alaska are recounted in his book, "Red Ball in the Sky."  BTW, Excailibur III now hangs in the Smithsonian's Udvar Hazy Center of the National Air and Space Museum.

More about Charles Blair:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_F._Blair_Jr.

 

Jim Driskell

[188AHC 2,138]

I saw that Mustang on my last trip to DC. The Udvar-Hazy is a wonderful way to spend the day. 

[Ray Proudfoot 8,929]

Is there a record for the slowest commercial flight in the opposite direction? 😃

[Chock 17,769]

24 minutes ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

Is there a record for the slowest commercial flight in the opposite direction? 😃

Probably someone being paid to ferry a Cessna over the pond I would guess.

[Ray Proudfoot 8,929]

56 minutes ago, Chock said:

Probably someone being paid to ferry a Cessna over the pond I would guess.

I was thinking more about the commercial carriers like BA. But not really a record you would want to boast about really. It was a tongue-in-cheek question. 😁

[Afterburner 374]

I am wondering how long it took a subsonic airliner yesterday to fly in the opposing direction from London to New York. Pilots obviously wouldn't fly directly into the jet-stream to avoid the severe headwind, but even if you took a more favorable altitude or route, you would still be slowed down by at least 200 km/h - I guess...

[Ray Proudfoot 8,929]

@Afterburner, nice seeing you again! There are NA Tracks so the least worst would have been selected. They may avoid the worst of the jet stream but not it completely.

[scott967 62]

People trying to land in UK probably hold a record for slow given all the missed approaches and diverts due to the storm.

scott s.

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