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An air speed record is the highest airspeed attained by an aircraft of a particular class. The rules for all official aviation records are defined by Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), which also ratifies any claims. Speed records are divided into multiple classes with sub-divisions. There are three classes of aircraft: landplanes, seaplanes, and amphibians; then within these classes, there are records for aircraft in a number of weight categories. There are still further sub-divisions for piston-engined, turbojet, turboprop, and rocket-engined aircraft. Within each of these groups, records are defined for speed over a straight course and for closed circuits of various sizes carrying various payloads.
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Timeline
Records in "gray" font color are unofficial, including unconfirmed or unpublicized (wartime) secrets.
Official records versus unofficial
The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird holds the official Air Speed Record for a manned airbreathing jet aircraft with a speed of 3,530 km/h (2,193 mph). It was capable of taking off and landing unassisted on conventional runways. The record was set on 28 July 1976 by Eldon W. Joersz and George T. Morgan Jr. near Beale Air Force Base, California, US. SR-71 pilot Brian Shul reported in The Untouchables that he flew in excess of Mach 3.5 on April 15, 1986, over Libya in order to avoid a missile.
Although the official record for fastest piston-engined aeroplane in level flight is held by a Grumman F8F Bearcat, the Rare Bear, with a speed of 528.31 mph (850.24 km/h), the unofficial record for fastest piston-engined aeroplane in level flight is a held by a British Hawker Sea Fury at 547 mph (880 km/h). Whereas these were both demilitarised, modified fighters, the fastest piston-engined aeroplane in stock (original, factory-built) condition was the German Dornier Do 335 Pfeil, with a maximum speed of 474 mph (765 km/h) in level flight. The unofficial record for fastest piston-engined aeroplane (not in level flight) is held by a Supermarine Spitfire Mk IXX, which was calculated to have achieved a speed of 690 mph (1,110 km/h, Mach 0.96) in a dive on 5 February 1952.
The last new speed record ratified before the outbreak of World War II was set on 26 April 1939 with a Me 209 V1, at 755 km/h (469 mph). The chaos, and secrecy, of World War II meant that new speed breakthroughs were not publicized nor ratified. In October 1941, an unofficial speed record of 1004 km/h (624 mph) was secretly set by a Messerschmitt Me 163 AV4 rocket aircraft. Continued research during the war extended the secret, unofficial speed record to 1130 km/h (702 mph) by July 1944, achieved by a Messerschmitt Me 163B V18. The first new official record in the post-war period was achieved by a Gloster Meteor in November 1945, at 976 km/h (606 mph). The first aircraft to exceed the unofficial October 1941 record of the Me 163 AV4 was the Douglas Skystreak, which achieved 1031 km/h (641 mph) in August 1947. The July 1944 unofficial record of the Me 163B V18 was officially surpassed in November 1947, when Chuck Yeager flew the Bell X-1 to 891 mph (1434 km/h).
The official speed record for a seaplane moved by piston engine - still valid today - is 709.209 km/h, from the seaplane ("idrocorsa") Macchi-Castoldi M.C.72, attained on October 23, 1934, by Francesco Agello. It was equipped with the Fiat AS.6 engine (version 1934) developing a power of 3100 hp at 3300 rpm, with coaxial counter-rotating propellers. The original Macchi-Castoldi MC72 MM.181 seaplane that holds the record is kept in the Air Force Museum at Vigna di Valle in Italy.
On 12 November 1981, Space Shuttle mission STS-2 was flown through its gliding re-entry from Mach 24 through its entire approach and landing, so as to test the limits of the shuttle's stability and controls. The fastest manned atmospheric vehicle of all time was the Apollo Command Module, reaching speeds of around Mach 30 during re-entry. While different from most people's idea of an 'aircraft', the capsule did have a lift to drag ratio of around 0.368, which was used to control the flight trajectory.
Other air speed records
Flying between any two airports allow a large number of combinations, so setting a speed record ("speed over a recognised course") is fairly easy with an ordinary aircraft; it does require some paperwork.