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The X-15's highest speed, 4,520 miles per hour (7,274 km/h; 2,021 m/s), was achieved on 3 October 1967, when William J. Knight flew at Mach 6.7 at an altitude of 102,100 feet (31,120 m), or 19.34 miles.
Feb 28, 2014 · During its research program, the aircraft set unofficial world speed and altitude records of 4,520 mph (Mach 6.7 on Oct. 3, 1967, with Air Force pilot Pete Knight at the controls) and 354,200 feet (on Aug. 22, 1963, with NASA pilot Joseph Walker in the cockpit).
Jul 28, 2020 · The X-15, however, could start its approach at 20,000 feet and at supersonic speeds in excess of 1,500 mph – radically different conditions than most pilots experienced.
X-15 number 56-6670 flew 81 missions, including the last eight of the program. It reached a speed of 4,104 mph (Mach 6.06), and an altitude of 266,500 feet. Eric Long/NASM
Mar 18, 2014 · Then, just 20 years later, William “Pete” Knight flew the X-15 hypersonic airplane to a Mach number of 6.7, the fastest speed attained in the X-15. By virtue of this flight, Knight still holds today the world’s speed record in a winged, powered aircraft.
Mar 25, 2014 · The X-15 resembles not so much a plane as an oversized dart – a needle-nosed torpedo with stubby wings, built around a rocket engine that could propel it to speeds in excess of 4,500mph...
Aug 14, 2022 · Known as the fastest manned rocket aircraft ever flown, the North American X-15 is an engineering marvel. It made the first manned flights to the edge of outer space and was the first aircraft to reach hypersonic speeds – that’s over five times the speed of sound.
The X-15 was air launched from a B-52 aircraft at 45,000 feet and at a speed of about 500 mph. After dropping from the B-52, the rocket engine provided thrust for the first 80 to 120 seconds of flight.
Oct 16, 2014 · On October 3, 1967, U.S. Air Force pilot William “Pete” Knight set a world speed record in an X-15 rocket plane. Minutes later, the aircraft landed charred and broken. Knight was one of 12 men who piloted the experimental X-15 planes.
Because of the large fuel consumption of its rocket engine, the X-15 was air launched from a B-52 aircraft at about 45,000 ft and speeds upward of 500 mph. The airplane first set speed records in the Mach 4-6 range with Mach 4.43 on March 7, 1961; Mach 5.27 on June 23, 1961; Mach 6.04 on November 9, 1961; and Mach 6.7 on October 3, 1967.
