Planes are the fastest mode of transportation to go from one spot to another.
The average speed of a plane can be 160mph to 2,400 mph. Still, this speed depends on the type of plane because there are different types of aircraft that humans use, like fighter jets, commercial airliners, helicopters, one-person, and military aircraft.
Other than that, the plane speed highly depends on the purpose of flight, like whether the plane is landing, denaturing, or taking off.
Surprisingly, aircraft have different speeds for landing and taking off, which is why we need to go into the details of why planes move fast and how fast is fast.
How Fast Do Planes Fly?
Well, if you want to know the figure, that’s 160mph to 2,400mph but if you want to know what makes a plane capable of flying that fast, then keep reading.
A plane’s speed depends on several factors like the type of plane, engine, onboard weight, and aerodynamics.
Let’s discuss the speed factor for a commercial plane in different phases.
Speed of Plane During Take-off
Take-off is the most important part of any plane, and a plane that runs on a motorway ( Unlike the F-35 that takes off vertically) for horizontal take-off needs to maintain a speed of 160 mph to 180 mph in the air. This speed figure can also change depending on a few factors, like the total weight the plane is carrying.
Speed of Plane During Cruising
A commercial plane can achieve a speed of 880-926 Kilometers Per Hour or 575 Miles Per Hour.
The maximum speed of an Airplane can be 600+ Miles Per Hour, but running the plane at full speed can consume more fuel, so below the maximum level is the average speed for any plane.
Speed of Plane During Landing
Commercial airlines have no restrictions to low or increase the speed limit from the authorities; they always maintain their speed depending on their need.
So, when an airliner is descending, that means the landing is in progress, and when a plane is landing, the plane lowers the engine’s speed to 240 kilometers per hour. This figure will also vary depending, what’s the weight that the plane is carrying and the length of the runway, and also on the flap settings of the plane.
Types of Planes
Other than commercial airliners, there are private jets, fighter jets, and military planes, which all have different speeds. We will discuss the speed of each type of jet and how different each of these is from commercial airliners.
Single Engine Planes
Private pilots or local airports usually own single-engine planes to teach newcomer pilots or give city tours to locals. The single-engine is a piston-based engine built differently from other plane engines and offers a cruise speed of 576 kilometers in an hour.
Private Plane
The elite class and rich millionaires own private jets, and they don’t have any restrictions regarding logistics or the cost-cutting policies of airlines, and that’s why these jets can fly faster and higher than commercial airliners.
A private jet going on full capacity can go from 650 to 960 Kilometers Per Hour, and the best example of a Private Jet is the Gulfstream G700, which can move at a speed of 1200 Kilometers an hour as well, which is higher than any commercial airliner but less than the fighter jets speed.
Military Aircraft
There are many options when discussing Military Aircrafts, like fighter jets, choppers, cargo planes, etc.
Fighter jets like Lockheed YF-12 are the highest speed fighter jet with a cruising speed of 2,275 mph, Mig-25 with cruising speed of 2,171 mph, and McDonnell Douglas F-15E with a cruising speed of 1,875 mph.
Similarly, the cargo planes used by the Military can move at a speed of 640 km/h because these are heavier planes. They also carry a lot of weight compared to these, the fighter jets are slower and designed to achieve more speed, and that’s why the fighter jets outspeed any other plane on the planet earth.
How fast can commercial airplanes Go?
Let’s discuss some of the popular commercial planes used at different airlines and see what speed they can achieve.
Boeing 747
If you travel a lot, you must have been a passenger of a Boeing 747 commercial airliner, and this plane can move at a speed of 570 miles per hour when cruising and 165 miles per hour when preparing for landing.
Boeing 737
The next most widely used commercial airliner is the Boeing 737, a powerful plane equipped with a powerful engine capable of managing 800 Kilometers Per Hour while cruising and 160 Kilometers Per Hour when landing.
Airbus A380
Finally, the Airbus A380 is the next type of commercial airliner that moves at a speed of 1050 Kilometers per hour when cruising.
Fastest Plane in the World?
The fastest plane in the world was developed by the Soviet Union Military that was called Tu-114 in 1960 with a top speed of 870 Kilometers per hour, and after the initial testing, the plane was turned into a luxury airliner.
Fastest Commercial Plane
The must have been Concorde, a plane developed to outperform the speed of light, capable of flying at 2100 kilometers an hour. Still, the plane has many flaws, like the higher speed would melt the jet skin, putting the plane at risk of crashing because the wings and fuselage are under the skin. The plane also owns the record to round the earth in 31 hours, 27 minutes, and 49 seconds.
The Fastest Plane Ever
The United States of America developed the fastest plane available on the earth, called Lockheed SR-71, also known as the Black Bird. This plane can cruise at a speed of 3,900 Kilometers Per Hour. Not only that, the Black Bird is the only fighter jet that can manage to fly at a high altitude of 25 kilometers from the ground.
Why Do Planes Not Fly at Full Speed?
Many things are taken care of when flying the plane at full speed. Although there are no restrictions for the planes to throttle at full speed, there are two crucial points that don’t allow the plane to fly with maximum speed: Fuel-consumption and Technical problems.
Fuel consumption
A plane flying at more speed is going to consume more fuel, and that is also going to raise the operational costs as well as maintenance costs.
Airlines would never approve of that because customers are always running after spending less and less on tickets, and that’s why the airlines have to find ways to meet the costs while saving something.
Although cruising at maximum speed will bring the destination closer and make the plane reach quickly, no one will value that over cheaper tickets; that is the main reason the planes are prohibited from throttling at full speed.
Technical Problems
Cruising at high speeds can consume more fuel, and the chances of technical problems can increase; Moree speed means more resistance,e which means the external rising temperatures can cause problems with onboard instruments.
Therefore, planes tend to fly at a lower speed to ensure they never face technical problems while cruising.
Can you use your phone on a plane?
There are no restrictions on using a phone on a plane at all.
How fast do commercial planes fly
Commercial planes can fly at a speed of 2000 KM/Hour.
