In August 2010, as part of its 1,800 hour flight test programme, a Gulfstream G650 passenger jet serial number 6001, flown by test pilots Tom Horne and Gary Freeman, reached a flight speed of Mach 0.995 in a 16-18 degree dive in Savannah, Georgia, USA and this, together with its maximum cruising speed of Mach 0.925, make the Gulfstream G650 the fastest civil business aircraft currently flying. Designed to carry eight passengers and four crewmembers, the G650 has a potential range of 7,000 nautical miles
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The fastest biplane was the Italian Fiat CR42B, with a 753 kW 1010 hp Daimler-Benz DB601A engine, which attained 520 km/h (323 mph) in 1941. Only one was built.
The Tupolev Tu-144, first flown on 31 December 1968 in the former USSR, was reported to have reached Mach 2.4 (2,587 km/h; 1,600 mph), but normal cruising speed was Mach 2.2. After two crashes the aircraft was taken out of service in 1978. The BAC/Aerospatiale Concorde, first flown on 2 March 1969, cruised at up to Mach 2.02 (2,333 km/h; 1,450 mph) and became the first supersonic airliner used on passenger services on 21 January 1976. The New York-London record is 2 hrs 52 mins
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The former Soviet Tu-95/142 (NATO code-name Bear) long-range bomber is the fastest propeller-driven aircraft in standard production form, with a maximum level speed of Mach 0.82 or 925 km/h (575 mph). First produced in the 1950s, it remains in service with several air forces. The Bear has four 11,033 kW (14,795 hp) engines, driving eight-blade contra-rotating propellers.
On 21 August 1989, in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, the Rare Bear, a modified Grumman F8F Bearcat piloted by Lyle Shelton (USA), set the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale-(FAI-) approved world record for a 3 km (1.8 mile) course of 850.24 km/h (528.31 mph), and in doing so became the fastest piston-engined aircraft. The Rare Bear is a restored and modified WWII era Grumman F8F Bearcat, complete with a Curtiss-wright R3350 engine which produces in excess of 3,000 kW (4,000 hp).
With an engine based on the LS Corvette power train, the WaterCar Python is the fastest amphibious vehicle in the world. It has a top speed of 96 km (60 mph; 52 knots) on water and can perform a 0?60 mph acceleration in 4.5 seconds on land. The Python is hand-built to order; prices start from $200,000 (£123,000).
The fastest album release was achieved by Vollgas Kompanie (Switzerland) with their album “Live”, recorded on August 15 2008 and released to the public on 16 August 2008, in Switzerland.
The USAF Lockheed SR-71 ‘Blackbird’, a reconnaissance aircraft, is the world’s fastest non-experimental jet aeroplane, with a top speed in excess of Mach 3. First flown in its definitive form on 22 December 1964, it is reportedly capable of attaining an altitude of close to 30,000 m (100,000 ft). It has a wing span of 16.94 m (55 ft 7 in) and a length of 32.73 m (107 ft 5 in) and weighs 77.1 tonnes (170,000 lb) at take-off. Its reported range at Mach 3
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Pemba Dorje Sherpa (Nepal) climbed from Base Camp to the summit of Mt Everest in a time of 8 hr 10 min on 21 May 2004, the fastest ever ascent of the world’s tallest mountain.
Hans Kammerlander (Italy) completed the fastest ever ascent of Mt Everest on the northern side, making the climb from base camp to the summit in 16 hr 45 min on 23 and 24 May 1996. He left for the summit at 5 p.m. on 23 May and reached the summit at 9:45 a.m. the following day. A substantial portion of his descent was on skis.