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When we talk about transatlantic flight we usually refer to a flight across the Atlantic Ocean from Europe, Africa, South Asia, or the Middle East to North America, Central America, or South America, or vice versa.
You need to figure out which plane will get you from Kennedy Airport (JFK) in New York to Heathrow Airport (LHR) in London the fastest! That's a total distance of 3442 standard miles. But there is a trick. You also need to figure out if they can make it there on one tank of gas.
To figure out the average speed each plane flies you need to divide total miles flown by the total time it took to fly that distance.
average speed = total miles/total time in hours
Each of the planes below set aviation records. You need to use information about those records to decide which one will get there first. Read the information below and use that flight information to figure out which plane will get you to New York City first.
How will you figure minutes into your calculations? How are you going to account for the range the plane can fly?
Concorde
Concorde
The Concorde was the first supersonic airliner and was in service for 27 years. The airliner primarily catered to first-class passengers who needed to make long trips quickly. The Concorde could make a trip about twice as fast as a conventional commercial airline.
In 1996, the Concorde set a record for flying 3750 miles in 2 hours and 53 minutes. The range before refueling is needed is 4,488 miles.
What was Concorde's average speed?
Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird
Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird
The SR-71 Blackbird was developed in the mid-1950s and began being used by the Air Force in 1968 as a fast and high altitude reconnaissance aircraft to assess Soviet military deployments without being intercepted.
In 1990, the SR-71 that is now in the National Air and Space Museum at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center flew a record-setting flight. The aircraft flew from Los Angeles to Washington D.C., which is 2,300 miles, in 1 hour and 4.5 minutes. The range before refueling is needed is 3,355 miles.
What was SR-71's average speed?
Lockheed F104A Starfighter
Lockheed F104A Starfighter
The F104A Starfighter first flew in 1954 and was the first U.S. jet fighter in service to fly twice the speed of sound (Mach 2).
In 1958, the F-104A Starfighter flew 15 miles in 38 seconds. The range before refueling is needed is 1,420 miles.
What was the Starfighter's average speed?
North American X-15
North American X-15
The North American X-15 was a research aircraft that was rocket powered, aimed at bridging the gap between manned flight within the atmosphere and manned flight beyond the atmosphere. The X-15 was the first winged aircraft to hit Mach 4, 5, and 6 (4, 5, and 6 times the speed of sound). Because of the fuel consumption needed for the aircraft's rocket engine, the X-15 had to be launched from a B-52 aircraft.
In 1967, the X-15 flew the highest speed ever recorded (still unbroken) by a crewed, powered aircraft. It flew 19.34 miles in 15.4 seconds. The X-15 had a range of 280 miles.
What was the X-15's average speed?
Which plane do you think will get you to London first?
Which plane do you think will get you to London first?
Click the button to see if you are right!
Click the button to see if you are right!
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