Tag: YF-12

17 Fastest Aircraft in the World
Aircraft Digest

17 Fastest Aircraft in the World

Since the invention of the first airplane, engineers have tried to push the limits of speed. What were the fastest aircraft two decades ago, look like snails compared to the aircraft of today. But which are the fastest? When the jet engine was invented during WWII, fighter jets and later commercial airliners became far faster than they ever had been. As jet engine technology progressed, so did top speeds, up until today and beyond! (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 17. Concorde (Mach 2.04) The Concorde was one of the biggest achievements of the Cold War. In the West, the Concorde is known for being the fastest successful commercial aircraft to have ever flown. Both BAC and Aerospatiale marketed the Concorde base solely on its speed. You could ...
Lockheed YF-12: The Fastest Jet Fighter we Never Got…
Aircraft Digest

Lockheed YF-12: The Fastest Jet Fighter we Never Got…

The Lockheed YF-12 is the older brother to the more famous SR-71. Whilst both were used by both the USAF and NASA, they were both used for completely different things! However, whilst the SR-71 prospered, the YF-12 gained traction before slowly fading away. So why did the Lockheed YF-12 fail when all other Blackbird family members prospered? (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Pre-YF-12 The late 1950's had seen not only the Korean War, but also the beginning of the Vietnam War. Whilst the conflict itself was the US's first real failure of the Cold War, it did yield a lot in terms of new aircraft requirements. Prior to this, the newly-formed USAF had been utilizing some of the first generation jet aircraft. These aircraft served in several differ...