cruise speed on a plane

How Fast Planes Fly (Takeoff, Cruising & Landing)

If you’re wondering how fast planes fly, the answer is that it ranges from 160 mph (260 km/h) to 2,400 mph (3,900 km/h) depending on the type of plane (commercial airliner, single-engine, private jet, military planes) and whether the plane is taking off, at cruising altitude or landing.

A plane’s speed depends on several factors: its classification, engine, weight at take-off time, and aerodynamics amongst many other things.

We’ll take the example of an average commercial plane during the three different phases of flying.

So let’s take a closer look at how the speed a plane flies compares depending on these two factors.

Table of Contents

• 1 How Fast Planes Fly to Take-off
• 2 How Fast Planes Cruise At
• 3 How Fast Planes Land
• 4 How Fast Fighter Jets Fly
• 5.1 Boeing 747
• 5.2 Boeing 737
• 5.3 Airbus A380
• 6.1 Single Engine
• 6.2 Private
• 7.1 Fastest Single Engine Plane
• 7.2 Fastest Commercial Plane
• 7.3 The Fastest Plane Ever
• 8 Why Planes Don’t Fly At Full Speed

How Fast Planes Fly to Take-off

During take-off, commercial aircraft speed varies anywhere between 260 km/h to 290 km/h or 160 mph to 180 mph.

Take-off speed depends mostly on factors like the aircraft’s weight.

How Fast Planes Cruise At

The usual cruising speed for a commercial airplane is between 880-926 km/h or 547-575 mph.

Most airplanes fly slower than the maximum speed they are capable of while at cruising altitude to conserve fuel.

How Fast Planes Land

Most commercial airliners land with a speed of between 240 and 265 km/h or 150 to 165 mph.

Landing speed depends on the weight of the plane , the runway surface, and the plane’s flap settings.

How Fast Fighter Jets Fly

There are several types of military aircraft, which means speeds can vary a lot.

Fighter jets, though, can fly faster than 1,195 km/h or 717 mph with some like the F15 flying at an astonishing speed of 3,100 km/h or 1,920 mph.

In contrast, cargo planes fly at an average speed of 640 km/h or 400 mph, which is noticeably slower than fighter jets.

How Fast Passenger Jets Fly

Let’s take a look at the speeds of a few of the most popular airliners used in commercial aviation.

A Boeing 747 has a take-off speed of 290 km/h or 180 mph, and it cruises at a speed of 900 km/h or 570 mph.

The Boeing 747’s landing speed varies on condition, but typically it’s within 265-280 km/h or 165-175 mph.

The Boeing 737 across all its variants has an average take-off speed of 250 km/h or 150 mph, and the cruise speed of its 737-800 variant is 842 km/h or 543 mph.

The Boeing 737’s landing speed is between 240- 260 km/h or 140-160 mph.

Airbus A380

Airbus A380s have a take-off speed that ranges from  275-310 km/h or 170-195 mph, and they have a cruising speed of 1,050 km/h or 630 mph at a height of 11 km/ 36,000 feet.

The Airbus A380’s landing speed is between 240-260 km/h or 150-161 mph.

How Fast Other Planes Fly

Single engine, private and military planes all have different speeds (no to mention significantly different costs to own ) compared to commercial airliners due to how they’re built.

Single Engine

Since most single-engine planes have propeller-based or piston engines, their airspeed is limited compared to other types of planes.

For example, the Cirrus Vision SF50 has a maximum cruise speed of 576 km/h or 358 mph.

Since private jets aren’t constrained by the operational logistics of a commercial airliner nor the cost-cutting policies of airlines, they can fly faster than most commercial planes.

The average private plane can cruise between 650-960 km/h or 400-600 mph. Some high-end private jets like the Gulfstream G700 can fly at speeds greater than 1,200 km/h or 740 mph.

Related: How Much Does a Private Jet Cost?

What is the Fastest Plane in the World?

Fastest single engine plane.

The Soviet Union’s Tu-114 has held the record for the fastest piston-engine plane since 1960.

It has a top speed of 870 km/h or 540 mph at a height of 7.9 km or 26,000 feet.

This plane was originally intended for military use, but they were later converted to be used as a luxury airliner.

Fastest Commercial Plane

The fastest commercial plane was the Concorde ; it could reach speeds higher than 2,100 km/h or 1,300 mph.

The only thing limiting the Concorde’s speed was temperature; excess heat generated by air friction threatened to melt the plane’s skin off, which is the outer surface which covers much of its wings and fuselage .

If you’re wondering how long it would take to fly around the world , the Concorde currently holds this record at 31 hours, 27 minutes and 49 seconds, which was set in 1995.

The Fastest Plane Ever

The fastest plane overall that was ever built is the Lockheed SR-71. Also known as the ‘black bird’, the SR-71 is a military plane that can fly over 3,900 km/h or 2,400 mph.

It also holds the world record for the highest altitude of flight by any aircraft at over 25km/ 85,000 feet.

Why Planes Don’t Fly At Full Speed

Commercial planes don’t fly at the maximum speeds they are capable of. Typically, the average commercial plane will cruise using only 75% of its total power. There are two main reasons for airliners to not have their planes use full power:

• Cost-Saving 

Airlines conserve fuel by flying their planes at lower speeds, which also helps keep maintenance and operating costs lower.

More passengers also prefer cheaper tickets instead of slightly earlier arrival times, so there is no need to change things as it stands.

In any case, if planes flew at full speed regularly, they would only arrive 20 to 30 minutes earlier on average. Most consumers do not value arriving 30 minutes earlier over getting a cheaper ticket.

So it makes less sense to go at full speed from a practical perspective.

It just isn’t worth it for airlines to use full power when it costs more and customers don’t value it.

• Technical Problems

Flying at lower speeds also helps reduce maintenance-related damage to an aircraft because of less air resistance.

Flying at higher speeds also makes it harder for crew members to use onboard instruments.

Flying at higher speeds would require more power, especially because most engines are designed to operate most efficiently at lower speeds.

Overall, it just doesn’t make sense to fly at higher speeds from both a practical and technical perspective.

In conclusion, planes can fly very fast (up to 2,400 mph or 3,900 km/h if we’re talking about the fastest speed ever), but the exact speed of a plane is subject to its classification and the conditions it is operating under.

Naturally, planes fly fastest when cruising in the air.

Helen Krasner

Helen Krasner holds a PPL(A), with 15 years experience flying fixed-wing aircraft; a PPL(H), with 13 years experience flying helicopters; and a CPL(H), Helicopter Instructor Rating, with 12 years working as a helicopter instructor.

Helen is an accomplished aviation writer with 12 years of experience, having authored several books and published numerous articles while also serving as the Editor of the BWPA (British Women Pilots Association) newsletter, with her excellent work having been recognized with her nomination of the “Aviation Journalist of the Year” award.

Helen has won the “Dawn to Dusk” International Flying Competition, along with the best all-female competitors, three times with her copilot.

Related Posts:

How Fast Do Airplanes Fly? Climb, Cruise & Descent

Flying for any amount of time can soon get boring so the faster it takes the better. Have you ever wondered if pilots fly planes at their maximum speed or are they limited like we are driving a car down the highway? We all know airplanes are fast, the question is though, just how fast?

At takeoff, most passenger jets are traveling around 150-180knots/170-210mph. They will then climb at a maximum speed of 250kts/290mph while under 10,000 feet and then can speed up to 280-300kts/320-345mph for the rest of the climb. Cruise speeds of most passenger jets are around 600kts/700mph.

To find out all about the different speeds an airplane flies at please read on…

Large Commercial Aircraft Speeds:

What is an airplane’s speed at takeoff .

Most commercial airliners use three different speeds for takeoff. These are: V1 , VRotate and V2 . For the Boeing 737-8 or the Airbus A320 family, these speeds are in the region of between 125knots (143mph) to 175knots (200mph).

The V1 or Decision Speed is the speed pilots calculate to know what is the maximum speed they can reject the takeoff. This speed depends on the weight of the aircraft, humidity, outside air temperature, weather, condition of the runway, length of the runway etc.

V1 speed is usually around 140knots +/- 5 knots (Around 160mph)

The Vr or VRotate Speed is the calculated speed at which the pilot flying (One pilot manipulates the controls while the other monitors the instrumentation) pulls back on the yoke or stick to lift the aircraft off the ground. Vr Speed is always equal to or higher than V1, but it can not be lower.

Vr Speed is usually also around 140knots +/- 5 knots (Around 160mph)

V2 Speed: 

The V2 Speed is the speed of the aircraft at 50 feet above the ground. This is the speed the aircraft uses to climb to at least 400 feet above the runway and it’s always 5 knots greater than the Vr speed. In case of an engine failure on takeoff the V2 speed will keep the aircraft safe and on a shallow climb while still avoiding obstacles.

V2 speed is usually also around 145knots +5/-0 knots (Around 166mph)

What is an Airplane’s Speed During the Climb? 

The speed of an airplane during its climb varies greatly with the wind and the weight of the aircraft, but all aircraft must abide by maximum airspeed limitations set forth by the world’s aviation governing bodies.

From liftoff up to 10,000 feet above Mean Sea Level (MSL), all pilots must NOT fly their airplane faster than 250knots or 288mph, unless they request to do so with air traffic control. This speed limit is to help air traffic controllers control the flow of aircraft into and out of airports below.

This slower speed also allows for more power to climb faster allowing the airplane to quickly climb through the busy airspace surrounding each airport. Above 10,000 feet the pilots are allowed to speed up so their speed usually increases to 280-300knots, but in doing so their rate of climb will reduce.

Once passing around 24,000 feet MSL pilots will then speed up again to around 350-430knots (400-500mph). This slows the rate of climb again but improves the time taken to complete the flight. This configuration allows for a steady climb up to cruising altitude while flying at a fast enough speed to ensure the passengers get to their destination in a reasonable time.

The faster an airplane flies, the slower it climbs. Engines can only supply a set amount of power so pilots have to select which flight regime they take.

Think of it like towing a trailer with a truck. On the flat road section, you can flatten the accelerator and your truck max’s out at 100mph. You then come to a hill and still with your foot to the floor your truck can now only climb at 80mph while towing. This is the same with the airplane.

Learn More … Try These Articles: * How Much Do Airplanes Weigh? (With 20 Examples) * This Is Why Pilots Reduce Thrust After Takeoff?

What is an Airplanes Cruise Speed? 

The speed of a typical airliner in cruise is usually up to 600kts/700mph/960kph. In the cruise, the pilots use the airplane’s Mach Number for controlling its speed as this number is not affected by atmospheric pressure at cruise altitudes.

What is the Mach Number? 

It’s basically the speed of the aircraft expressed as a percentage of the speed of sound (666 knots/766mph/1233kph). Controlling an aircraft by the Indicated Airspeed(IAS) at high altitudes is not efficient because the IAS is decreasing with increasing altitude and is also dangerous for speed control since the aircraft might find itself in an overspeed or underspeed condition.  

As you can see in this picture, in the left top corner of the right-hand screen, .77 is the selected Mach Number which results in a 244knots IAS.  

The Ground Speed on the other hand, as seen on left-hand screen, top left corner is well over 410knots or 500mph/900kph. 

Think of speeds like this:

• Ground Speed is the speed the airplane’s shadow is moving over the ground
• Indicated airspeed is the speed of the airflow hitting the nose of the aircraft

The arrow in the top left corner is showing the wind outside. In relation to the aircraft, the wind is blowing from the pilots’ 10 o’clock position at about 27knots. This makes the airplane fly slower because it is a headwind.

If the wind was blowing from behind the aircraft this is known as a tailwind and will give the airplane a push resulting in a faster speed over the ground for the same indicated airspeed.

Usual cruise speeds are in the region between 400kts/450mph to 560kts/650mph and it is greatly affected by the wind.

The stronger the tailwind, the faster the airplane moves over the ground, the stronger the headwind the slower the airplane moves over the ground for the same indicated airspeed.

Join My Newsletter & Get Great Tips, Information and Experiences To Help You Become a Superb Pilot!

• Wanting To Become A Pilot
• Student Pilot
• Aready A Pilot
• Aviation Enthusiast
• Money Saving Course

What is an Airplane’s Speed During Descent? 

The speed on the descent is somewhat like the climb speed. Initially, the aircraft descends from its cruising altitude by the pilots changing its Mach number. The slower the speed, the less lift the wings produce and gravity does the rest.

Once the airplane passes through 29,000 feet the pilots start using the Indicated Airspeed again.

Ground Speeds during the descent usually vary between 345kts/400mph to 435kts/500mph depending on if the airplane has a headwind or a tailwind.

Passing through 10,000 feet MSL, the same Air Traffic Control restrictions apply as the climb, so the pilots have to slow down to a maximum of 250knots (300mph). Ground speeds again vary between 300mph to 400mph depending on the wind.

What is an Airplane’s Speed at Landing? 

The landing speed of a commercial airliner is greatly affected by the actual weight of the aircraft. The higher the weight, the higher the speed needed. More lift is required for the heavier load. To get more lift the airplane needs to be flying faster.

The typical speed region at landing for a large airliner is usually 120kts/140mph to 155kts/180mph.

What is an Airplane’s Speed During Taxiing? 

Since we are talking about speeds in flight it would be appropriate to at least mention the speed of aircraft on the ground. Aircraft inside the apron usually taxi with 10 mph maximum. Outside of the apron, this speed is increased to a maximum 30 mph.

The apron is the area immediately surrounding the terminal gates and where ground personnel are scurrying back and forth servicing the waiting aircraft. Once the airplane gets out onto the less busy taxiways the pilots can then speed up.

Light Aircraft Speeds:

Although the skies are dominated by the ‘Heavy Iron’, there is a tonne of light aircraft flying around and they too have certain speeds the pilots have to maintain to ensure a safe flight.

Light aircraft like the Cessna 172 or the Diamond DA40 only use one speed – The Indicated airspeed. They do not have the need for V1, Vr, or V2 like large commercial aircraft do, simply because they only have one engine, plus they are not going that fast.

What is a Light Airplane’s Speed at Takeoff? 

The takeoff speed for light aircraft can be as low as 45mph. One of the biggest things affecting the takeoff speed of a light aircraft is the size of the wings (wing span) and the engine power. Both can significantly decrease the takeoff speed.

Large wings produce lots of lift meaning the aircraft needs less airflow over them to get airborne. Powerful engines mean they can accelerate the plane to lift off speed in a much shorter distance.

Typically most small aircraft lift off around 60mph. This gives a good buffer between the power it can produce and its stall speed.

The stall speed is the airspeed at which there is not enough air flowing over the wings to lift the aircraft into the air. An aircraft stalling close to the ground usually ends in a wreckage of the aircraft.

What is a Light Airplane’s Speed During Cruise? 

Cruise speeds for most light aircraft vary between 70mph to 120mph. The Cessna 172 has a cruising speed of 110knots (125mph). If you have ever flown in one you would know that it is not at all about the speed in a light aircraft but the convenience and freedom it provides.

The larger the airplane, the more power its engine can produce which also allows for a faster cruise speed. Some light aircraft are designed specifically for a fast cruise to get its occupants from point A to point in the shortest amount of time, whereas some aircraft are designed to be easy to fly and land.

What is a Light Airplane’s Speed at Landing? 

The landing speed for a light aircraft is usually the same as takeoff speed. Between as low as 45mph to 80mph. Usually, a small increment is added on the approach to land speeds to have a margin from the stall speed and also have some extra speed in case of a go-around.

Some small airplanes are designed to be able to touch down with almost zero forward speed if they have a good headwind. There is a competition in Alaska to see who can land in the shortest distance and you will be amazed just how short some of these aircraft can do it!

Learn More … Try These Articles: * How Long to Refuel an Airplane? – 15 Most Common Planes * How Do Pilots Know Where to Taxi Around an Airport?

I am an aviation nut! I'm an ATP-rated helicopter pilot & former flight instructor with over 3500 hours spanning 3 countries and many different flying jobs. I love aviation and everything about it. I use these articles to pass on cool facts and information to you whether you are a pilot or just love aviation too! If you want to know more about me, just click on my picture!

Recent Posts

How Do Airports Get Their Name?

Airports get assigned their names based on a worldwide international standard. They are assigned a 4-letter code for aviation use but the airport property is often called a more passenger-friendly...

Can Airplane Windows Break?

Airplane windows can and do break. Incidents with airplane windows breaking are really common and can be dealt with relatively easily as long as the aircraft is below 10,000 feet where pressurization...

Emirates and German leisure airline Condor enter codeshare agreement partnership

French President Macron announces transfer of Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets to Ukraine

Cathay Pacific to relaunch direct flights between Hong Kong and Riyadh

Flight school students left in ‘limbo’ after academy shut down when owner died

• ZeroAvia hydrogen-powered aircraft
• zero-emissions
• Zero emission
• Yeti Airlines
• Aviation Technology and Innovation
• This is interesting!

How fast do planes fly? Exploring airplane speeds 

It goes without saying that planes are seriously fast, but they can fly at a whole range of different speeds depending on the type of aircraft , altitude, weather conditions, and other factors. Aviation speed is typically measured in miles per hour (mph) – or a Mach number, which is a measurement of speed relative to the speed of sound. 

Let’s explore how fast planes fly by focusing on commercial, military, and private jet speeds. 

Different types of aircraft speed measurement

There are two main categories: ground speed and airspeed . Ground speed refers to the aircraft’s speed relative to the ground below. Airspeed is the more commonly used measurement in aviation and is usually measured in knots (kt), with one knot equivalent to 1.15 mph. This measurement considers the aircraft’s speed relative to the surrounding air, which is essential for safe and efficient flight.  

The two most common types of airspeed are indicated airspeed (IAS) and true airspeed (TAS). Indicated airspeed is the speed shown on the aircraft’s instrument panel and is based on the pressure differential between the pitot tube and static port on the airplane. However, due to a variety of factors such as instrument errors and atmospheric conditions, indicated airspeed may not always be an accurate representation of the aircraft’s true airspeed. 

Therefore, true airspeed is the actual speed of the aircraft relative to the surrounding air, independent of instrument errors or other factors. It is calculated by adjusting the indicated airspeed for temperature and altitude and is usually measured in kt or mph. 

Plane speeds

Mach and mph are two different units of measurement for speed. Mph is a unit of measurement commonly used for ground vehicles and aircraft, and it measures the distance an object travels within an hour. Mach number is a unit of measurement that compares the speed of an object to the speed of sound. 

The speed of sound, which is referred to as Mach 1, is approximately 767 mph (at sea level and at a temperature of 68 degrees Fahrenheit). Therefore, Mach 0.85, which is the typical cruising speed of commercial airliners, means that the aircraft is traveling at 85% of the speed of sound, or approximately 646 mph at sea level. 

In comparison, the fastest human running speed ever recorded is approximately 28 mph – and needless to say, that’s significantly slower than the cruising speed of a commercial airliner. Even the slowest commercial airliner takeoff and landing speeds are much faster than the fastest recorded human running speed. 

Specifically, the cruising speed of commercial airliners is typically around 550-600 mph, or Mach 0.85. Takeoff and landing speeds are much slower, typically between 130-180 mph, depending on the aircraft and weather conditions. The landing speed of a commercial airliner can be around 160-180 mph, while the takeoff speed can be around 130-160 mph. 

The fastest passenger planes

The Airbus A350-1000 first entered service in 2018 and has a top speed of Mach 0.89, which means it can travel at approximately 683 mph at sea level. This makes it the fastest commercial plane currently in operation. The A350-1000 is also known for its fuel efficiency and advanced technology, making it a popular choice among airlines. 

Another leading commercial airliner is the Boeing 747-8, which has been in service since 2011. It has a top speed of Mach 0.86, so it can travel at approximately 660 mph at sea level. The 747-8 is the latest variant of the Boeing 747, which has been a popular aircraft for over 50 years. The 747-8 is known for its large size and range, making it ideal for long-haul flights. 

The fastest civilian aircraft ever built is the retired Concorde supersonic jet. Supersonic refers to speeds that surpass Mach 1 – the speed of sound. The Concorde was a joint venture between British Aerospace and the French company Aerospatiale. It entered service in 1976 and was retired in 2003. The Concorde could fly at speeds of up to Mach 2.04, or just over 1,565 mph. As such, it could travel from London to New York in just over three hours, compared to the average seven-hour flight time for other commercial airliners. 

Despite its impressive speed, the Concorde was ultimately retired due to factors including high operating costs, environmental concerns and safety issues. 

The fastest military aircraft 

The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird is a reconnaissance aircraft that was developed by Lockheed Martin for the United States Air Force. It first entered service in 1966 and was retired in 1998. The Blackbird is known for its impressive speed, altitude, and ability to evade detection. It has a top speed of Mach 3.3, which means it can fly at over 2,512 mph, and a maximum altitude of 85,000 feet.  

The Blackbird was designed to conduct reconnaissance missions over hostile territory, and its high-speed and altitude capabilities allowed it to avoid enemy radar and surface-to-air missiles. Despite its performance, the Blackbird was retired due to high operating costs and the development of new reconnaissance technologies.

The Russian MiG-25 , also known as the Foxbat, is a supersonic interceptor and reconnaissance aircraft that first entered service in 1970. It has a top speed of Mach 2.83, or over 2,154 mph, and a maximum altitude of more than 80,000 feet.

The MiG-25 was designed to intercept and destroy enemy aircraft at high speeds and altitudes. It was also capable of conducting reconnaissance missions over hostile territory. Used extensively by the Soviet Union and several other countries, only two units remain in service with the Syrian Air Force . 

In addition to the SR-71 Blackbird and the MiG-25, there are many other military aircraft that are capable of flying at supersonic speeds. These include the F-15 Eagle , the F-16 Fighting Falcon , the Su-27 Flanker , the Eurofighter Typhoon, the Tu-160 Blackjack, the Antonov An-22, and the Rockwell B-1 Lancer. These aircraft are designed for a variety of missions, including air-to-air combat, ground attack, and reconnaissance.  

Though the supersonic flight is an impressive technological feat, it is important to note that it comes burdened with several challenges, from high fuel consumption and environmental concerns such as sonic booms. 

The fastest private jets 

The Gulfstream G700 has a maximum cruising speed of Mach 0.925, or approximately 710 mph. It can fly nonstop for more than 7,000 nautical miles (12,964 km), making it a popular choice for long-range business travel. 

Another very fast private jet is the Cessna Citation X + , with a maximum cruising speed of Mach 0.935 or roughly 717 mph. It can fly up to 3,460 nautical miles (6,408 km) and is used for short to medium-range business travel. 

The fastest private jet currently available is the Bombardier Global 8000 which has a maximum cruising speed of Mach 0.94 . This long-range jet can fly up to 7,900 nautical miles (14,631 km) non-stop, making it one of the most capable business jets on the market. 

However, it is worth noting that the top speed of private jets can vary depending on various factors, such as altitude, temperature, weight, and even humidity. While private jets are typically designed to reach high speeds, the actual speed during a flight may be lower than the maximum speed possible, due to various factors such as air traffic control restrictions, turbulence, and weather conditions.

The SR-71 Blackbird: unveiling the fastest plane ever built

• Aviation History
• commercial aviation
• SR-71 Blackbird

Sign Up for Our Newsletters

Related posts.

• Sustainability

Archer becomes only second eVTOL developer to secure key FAA certification

Qantas: Airbus A350 extra fuel tank certified, Project Sunrise back on track

FAA clears Amazon drones to operate more widely, European operations imminent   

Tragedy at Beja Air Show as pilot collides with teammate during display: video 

Stay updated on aviation and aerospace - subscribe to our newsletter!

• Brands/Models
• Buyer’s Guide
• Glass Cockpits
• Auto-Pilots
• Legacy Instruments
• Instruments
• Safety Systems
• Portable Electronics
• Modifications
• Maintenance
• Partnerships
• Pilot Courses
• Plane & Pilot 2024 Photo Contest
• Past Contests
• Aviation Education Training
• Proficiency
• Free Newsletter

Plane Speed: How Fast Do You Need To Fly?

How important is speed in an airplane and how much is it worth?

By Isabel Goyer , Budd Davisson Updated November 13, 2023 Save Article

There’s no shame in admitting that when we pilots read flight reports, we skim the plane’s specs, looking for the cruise speed, before going back and reading the rest. We all love the idea of going fast. But how fast is fast? And is there such a thing as fast enough? Or is it a case of the tortoise versus the hare? (Hint: It’s not.)

Even though the aviation world is largely one of knots and not miles per hour, when it comes to speed, some of us still think in terms mph. For years, manufacturers were the worst offenders, especially Mooney, which made the 200-mph such a goal that it named one of its planes the “201.” And we admit that 200-mph looks a lot faster than 175 knots, even though they’re just decimal points apart in actual value. Though it’s lost a lot of its luster over the past couple of decades, in general aviation, 200 mph remains a significant marker, a kind of imaginary speed barrier for single-engine aircraft. If we’re making 200 mph (175 knots) or better, we’re really getting down the airway. With the advent of a number of slippery, big-engine singles, most notably the Cirrus SR22, 200 knots might well be the new benchmark of how fast fast is. There’s no doubt but that today’s buyers of high-end, high-performance planes want to see that number.

And for the sake of standardization, Plane & Pilot has adopted the FAA’s knots-first editorial policy, which for the past 35 years has been an industry standard. And when we discuss speeds, whether mph or knots, we’re referring to true airspeed, (technically abbreviated as “ktas”), which is the plane’s speed through the air, which is calculated from the calibrated airspeed and adjusting for the variables of air density and temperature.

The big question remains, though. What does speed mean in real terms? What kind of advantages do those fast movers enjoy, and is it worth what you have to pay for it?

The answers are, there are a lot of advantages, some big, some not so big, and the costs can be great. Can they be too great? Good question. Let’s look at some real-world cases.

But first, it’s important to get a grasp of your typical mission. If your prime travel distance is, for the same of choosing a round number, 500 nautical miles, then one could make a compelling argument that you don’t need the fastest of the fast to make that trip reliably and regularly. But unless you’re making a permanent move, cross-country trips don’t end at the first fuel stop or the eventual “destination.” The destination is, in fact, almost always back home. If you’re making a multi-day trip, which most long cross countries in a small piston-engine plane will be, regardless of how fast the plane is, then you can treat the mission as two separate trips on two separate days. Fair enough. But if you’re planning to be home again that evening, then speed is an even more critical part of the calculus. In fact, without a fast plane, a 500-nm trip out and back again with three hours on the ground at the destination isn’t doable in daylight in most of the Lower-48 United States during the daylight available most of the year. And super long days with a trip home late in the evening almost guarantees less than optimal human performance on those last legs.

But in terms of the simple math, again with that 500-mile trip, which is average for most pilots, how much does speed get you? What’s the difference between cruising at 138 knots, something that most Cessna 182s can do) and 174 knots, something that most mid-60’s to present-day Beech Bonanzas can pull off? It doesn’t take a math wizard to see the Bonanza saves 36 minutes on that trip. Is the time worth what it costs to save it? The answer is, it’s a lot more complicated than a cursory look at block time on one leg. Real-world cross-country flying is all about taking all the parameters into account, and that means looking realistically at weather, optimum altitudes, passenger needs and the amount of daylight you have to work with—winter days are short. When you begin factoring in considerations such as required alternates on an IFR flight plan or thunderstorm diversions, the process can get complicated, and pilots need to have a solid grasp of all of the variables that go into planning any particular trip. So is the extra speed worth it? In the small picture, maybe not. But when you take a wider view of what cross-country flying is all about, the additional speed is priceless.

Airplanes as fast as that legendary 200 mph (which we’ll think of here as 175 knots) always have the increased maintenance of retractable gear (Cirrus and Lancair excluded) and big motors, and almost always have higher acquisition costs. Within the traditional general aviation fleet, however, there are actually only a few airplanes that can honestly claim to cruise 200 mph. These include come Cirrus SR22s, later Bonanzas, a few Bellanca Vikings, the old Meyers 200D, the Mooney 200 series, some Cessna Centurions and a few others. The big question is how much time is extra speed actually saving you, and is it worth the additional expense and potential hassle?

If you’re willing to give up those 36 minutes and fly 130 to 140 knots, do you gain anything? The most obvious advantage is that it costs less to get into the game to begin with. Even though the tried-and-true Skylane is probably the most expensive airplane in its category, it’s still cheaper than most of the fast movers, and early square-tail Skylanes can still be found, that is, if you look hard enough and get a little lucky. But what if you desperately want the bragging rights that go with a 175 knot cruise speed? Or what if you really do need that speed on long trips? Is there such a thing as cheap speed, and how do we evaluate it?

Maybe what we should be talking about here isn’t raw, dollars-be-damned speed, but miles per dollar—how much does each knot cost us (and the cost has to be defined as not only the gas being burned, but also what it costs to get into that seat in the first place). Plus, we need to apply some kind of factor for maintenance, which is going to be a pure guess. (Note: The legacy chart is in mph.)

When you start talking speeds over 140 kts, you’ve automatically stepped into the land of retractable gear (again, excluding Cirrus, Cessna’s TTx and a number of lesser known homebuilts) and, as you move up past around 155 knots, the pickings start to get pretty slim. Let’s look at some candidates and see how they stack up when you compare their stats (see “The True Costs Of Speed” chart). Be advised, however, that there’s some Kentucky windage here in terms of fuel burn, and we’re basing our speeds on published specs that often are questionable. Still, it gives us something that can put airplanes in positions relative to one another.

The physics behind fuel efficiency haven’t changed in the last 10 years, thank goodness. In big bore singles, fuel efficiency tends to be around 11 to 12 mpg, though the smaller engine Mooneys will get you around 20 mpg. That’s because Mooneys give up some cabin comfort to keep the frontal area down, plus they have worked really hard at making themselves aerodynamically efficient at higher altitudes. The net result is that they’re delivering higher speeds with smaller motors (200 hp), which translates to better overall efficiency. Additionally, some of the early, small Mooneys are not as fast as the later ones, but are relatively low-priced and still deliver 145 to 155 kts on 180 horses with 9 to 10 gph fuel burns.

Another way to look at the speed is how much we have to pay for each additional mile per hour of speed when buying the airplane. Even when using Bluebook aircraft values as comparisons, which are usually low, it shows that airplanes like the Bonanza, which are much larger and more luxurious, but nowhere nearly as efficient as the Mooneys, command higher prices. Therefore, on a dollar-per-knot basis, they’re much more expensive, plus they’re way down in the fuel-efficiency curve. So why do people buy Bonanzas over Mooneys? Probably because they like the comfort and don’t object to burning a little more gas. So, once you’re going fast, other factors apparently count, as well. (Please note that the pricing figures were 2016 estimates. Times have changed, and so have prices.

Range: The Great Equalizer, Up To A Point With all this talk of speed, there’s one other factor that has to be tossed into the decision equation: range. How far will it go without making a fuel stop? When we’re talking 500-mile trips, that’s not usually a factor because just about everything has at least 500 nm of range, but a funny thing happens when we stretch that trip out to 1,200 miles. Suddenly, fuel capacity becomes a really big deal.

Let’s say you’re flying a 300 hp, 1980 Bellanca Viking that actually does deliver its advertised 175 kt cruise speed. Its spec sheet says its range is barely 600 miles (and we’ll bet that isn’t at 175 knots. So, to safely make 1,200 miles and still have some reserve, it would have to stop twice to get gas. The actual time in the air would be 5.9 hours (probably longer, since spec sheet range numbers usually are at economy settings, but speed is quoted at 75%). Two fuel stops, however, are going to add 1.5 hours (45 minutes per stop, which is conservative) for a total of 7.3 hours. For a trip of 1,000 miles, the Bellanca looks good again. But that second fuel stop on a really long mission is a killer.

Still, back to that hypothetical 1,200 trip. Now, let’s say your lowly Cessna 182 is plodding along at 140 kts, but burning significantly less gas. More importantly, it’s a newer model with 88-gallon tanks, which, according to the specifications, gives just under 800-nm of range. So, it easily can make it with only one stop. Seven and a half hours of flying, plus 0.7 of ground time, gives you 8.2 hours of total elapsed time. So, the much faster Bellanca Viking only got there 55 minutes faster. But are all of those things a really big deal on such a long trip?

Often they’re not, but when it comes to multiple legs, even short ones, speed can make a huge difference. A flight of 400-nm miles won’t require a fuel stop for any of these planes, but the time saved flying a much faster airplane will translate into not just one faster trip, but potentially three, or on a long, busy day, maybe four. Getting back home a couple of hours earlier, or maybe just getting back home at all instead of having to hotel it at the last stop, is worth a lot.

Now, let’s toss in aftermarket auxiliary tanks so we can be flying an earlier, and much less expensive, Cessna 182 (or Cherokee 235 or!). This extra 23 gallons gives the early airplanes another 1.7 hours for a total range of about 800 miles. So, now we’re flying an airplane that may have cost us as little as $50,000 (a fixer-upper, like a 1959 C-182), but we came in only 55 minutes behind the blazing Viking after a daylong trip. If you do a lot of long cross-countries, installing auxiliary tanks could be considered the best and most effective speed mod.

How about comparing the Cessna Skylane to a 300 hp A36 Bonanza ? The Bonanza costs around three times more than the C-182, but the Bonanza can make the 1,200 miles with one fuel stop so it would get there 1.5 hours quicker. Okay, so after a 1,200-mile trip, the Bonanza folks will be at the gate hours sooner than the Cessna would be. The 182’s cost of operation is pennies compared to the Bonanza’s, especially when you factor in insurance, cost of acquisition and maintenance. You have to decide what that extra time is worth to you. Is it worth an extra $100,000 to $200,000 in acquisition and at least twice the support cost to save a couple of hours on that 1,200-mile trip you take only every other year? On the other hand, if you’re routinely flying trips that long, speed is worth every penny.

Turbos Make A Difference An aircraft equipped with a turbocharger is always going to offer increased speed and fuel efficiency over its normally aspirated counterpart because it will hold its power to a higher altitude where it gets really fast and burns less gas. The only downside to turbochargers is that they increase the maintenance and acquisition costs, and some require a bit more pilot technique.

In terms of performance, a blown A36, as an example, is supposed to cruise at 190 knots compared to a normally aspirated version at 169 knots, and a TC Saratoga will do 177 knots) versus 158 knots), while the range goes up 56 miles to a whopping 825 nautical miles. (See the “Turbocharged Speed Comparison” chart.)

It might be worth noting that while we don’t normally think of any version of a Skylane as being a speed demon, the TC182RG runs right at 173 kts. Also, the TC210 Turbo Centurion series is a real sleeper at 197 knots, while the pressurized P210R is capable of running an unbelievable 212 knots at altitude. Now, that’s really getting down the road!

So, What’s Fast Enough? The concept of “fast enough” is strictly subject to personal definition. For some, there is no such thing. For others, flying is its own reward, and they’re more than happy to get there when they get there. For most, however, the decision involves a complex interplay between the complicated considerations of long cross-country flights, along with the pilot/owner’s wants, needs and financial capabilities: In most cases we want speed, but how much do we really need it and can we afford it? In this day and age of skyrocketing prices for used planes, especially fast ones, the circle is getting harder to square, though there are still great options if you’re willing to part with a bit more of your hard-earned dollars. Then again, dollars versus dream plane is an equation airplane owners have been doing since they looked at their first used plane.

Are you looking for cheap ways to fly faster? Check out our article Speed Without Mods .

Related stories, boeing 737 200–900.

This Incredible Plane: Cessna 152 Aerobat: Spin Cycle!

Helping Your Airplane Shelter in Place

Stay in touch with Plane & Pilot

America’s owner-flown aircraft enthusiasts and active-pilot resource, delivered to your inbox!

Save Your Favorites

Already have an account? Sign in

Save This Article

• Zero Time to Airline®
• Student Life
• Day in the Life
• Envoy Cadet Program
• Spirit Wings Pilot Pathway Program
• How to Apply
• Start Dates
• Sallie Mae Flight Training Loan
• Stratus Flight Training Loan
• Climb Flight Training Loan
• Financing Form
• Meet the Team
• Training Resources
• Merchandise
• Airline Advisory Board
• Safety Reporting
• Thrust Institute of Maintenance

Get the 7 Questions to Ask Before You Pick Your Flight School

Download this FREE cheat sheet to make sure you’re asking every flight school the right questions.

Jet Speeds Uncovered: How Fast Do Commercial Airplanes Fly?

Samantha Black

In this article we’ll answer the common question, how fast do planes fly.

There are a lot of factors that go into how fast commercial aircraft fly. In this article we’ll go over all of these factors but before we do, here’s the flight speeds of many common commercial aircraft.

Cruising Speeds for Common Commercial Airplanes

Here is how fast common commercial planes go.

I’ve listed them in the following order; Aircraft Type, Cruise Mach, Knots, MPH.

What Impacts the Speed of a Plane?

Airplane speed is a confusing subject because airplanes operate in the atmosphere, which is itself moving around.

When driving down the road in your car, your speed is a simple matter of miles per hour (or kilometers per hour, outside the US). But pilots and aircraft designers think about a lot more.

Fundamentally, the speed that matters to airline route planners and passengers is the speed the plane flies across the ground from Point A to Point B.

This is known as the ground speed.

This is exactly like driving your car, and the math is easy. If you go 60 mph for three hours, you’ll go 180 miles toward your destination. Ground speed is the airspeed of a plane with tailwinds added or headwinds subtracted.

Inside the cockpit, however, the pilot and plane are worried about how much air moves over the wings.

This measurement is called airspeed, and there are a few different types. True airspeed vs indicated airspeed.

True Airspeed (TAS) is the most accurate because it accounts for the air temperature and density, which changes with weather and altitude. Aircraft have airspeed gauges, but they often show Indicated Airspeed (IAS), which is less accurate and needs to be corrected.

How Is a Plane’s Speed Measured?

Aviators use nautical miles for measuring distance, which are different than the statute miles used in the US highway system. 1 NM is approximately 1.15 SM and one nautical mile per hour is called a “knot.” Therefore, aircraft speeds are typically reported in knots, not mph. 

Jets have limitations on their design—they can’t fly too slow, but they also can’t fly too fast. Typical commercial airplanes are not designed to fly faster than the speed of sound, also known as Mach 1.

If they get too fast, the air begins forming shockwaves along the wing that can cause the aircraft to become uncontrollable. The speed they cannot exceed is called the Maximum Mach Number, or the Mmo. 

How fast you’re flying in terms of Mach numbers requires some math, so a machmeter is included in planes where this is an issue. A machmeter means the pilot can see that they are not exceeding the Mmo without thinking about all the math. As a result, when a commercial airplane is flying at altitude, it is flying at a safe designed Mach number. 

You might see the speeds of aircraft counted in either knots or Mach. 

Different Speeds During Flight

It’s important to realize that aircraft don’t always fly at the same speed. For one thing, there’s a speed limit in the sky. All aircraft below 10,000 feet must slow down to 250 knots or less. Near busy airports, they must slow to 200 knots or less. 

But beyond that, all aircraft have flight profiles that are followed on every flight. The pilots set the most efficient climbing, cruising, and descent settings.

Climb Speeds

Getting to a safe altitude as quickly as possible is always a priority because more altitude means more choices should there be an emergency or a loss of power.

This means getting off the runway with the best rate of climb, which will give you a lot of altitude quickly but at a slower forward speed. 

However, the pilot will transition to a more efficient climb profile once the plane is at a safe altitude.

This means lowering the nose, reducing the engine power, and getting more forward speed at the expense of a slower climb rate. 

Cruise Speed

The flight’s cruise phase is also done using a pre-arranged profile.

The pilot will set a desired engine power (and fuel burn) for the given flight, and the resulting airspeed or Mach number will determine their ground speed and range. 

When looking at the cruise speed numbers above, you’ll notice that most airliners are remarkably similar in performance.

A Maximum Mach number of 0.9–0.95 is about all that is possible in a sub-sonic transport aircraft. This is because air is accelerated as it flows over some parts of the aircraft. So even though the plane’s speed is less than Mach 1, some airflow over parts of the plane is much closer to the speed of sound.

Without making the entire aircraft capable of supersonic flight, these planes are limited to somewhere around this speed. 

What’s more, the air is far less dense at altitude than it is near the surface. Jet engines operate very efficiently there, but the aircraft’s wing does not.

It must fly very fast to have enough air flowing over it to avoid stalling.

For this reason, many airliners operate in a small window between fast enough to not stall and slow enough not to exceed the Mmo. The result is that many airliners today are flying around at roughly the same speeds. 

At cruise speeds aircraft will sometimes have to change their speeds when flying through turbulence .

Descent Speeds

So, how fast do commercial aircraft fly during the descent?

Commercial planes make two types of descent: a cruise descent and a landing approach. Cruise descent means losing altitude without building up too much forward speed and exceeding their Mmo.

There is little change in their forward speed since they just reduce engine thrust and let gravity do the rest.

Descending through 10,000 feet means abiding by the 250-knot speed limit.

This requires less power and perhaps drag devices like air spoilers to slow the aircraft down. Since less air flows over the wings as it slows down, the pilot will use flaps to increase the lift the wings can make.

Approaching the airport means slowing down as much as possible while maintaining control of the aircraft. Most planes are shooting approaches at 150 knots or less.

This requires using wing flaps and other high-lift devices to maintain control.

Supersonic Air Travel

So how fast do commercial planes fly if they’re going at supersonic speeds?

“I wanna go fast.” -Ricky Bobby

No discussion of commercial airplane speeds would be complete without mentioning the Concorde.

The world’s only supersonic airliner flew in regular service from 1976 to 2003 for Air France and British Airways. The plane provides insight into why many modern commercial airplanes look and perform as they do today. 

The Concorde set several records and logged more supersonic hours than any other aircraft before or since.

In 1996 a British Airways “Speedbird” flew from New York to London in 2 hours, 52 minutes thanks to a 175 mph tailwind. In 1992 and 1995, the same Air France Concorde set records circumnavigating the globe (east and westbound, albeit with many fuel stops each way). The quickest was the 1995 eastbound trip which was done in 31 hours, 27 minutes.

Only 20 Concordes were ever built, and while flying on the special plane was a sign of status, supersonic air travel never really took off.

For one thing, the plane was a gas guzzler and very expensive to operate. For another, the sonic booms it produced meant that it could only ever fly at those airspeeds over the open ocean. That made its feasibility for legs like New York to Los Angeles virtually nill.

New technologies may be changing the math, however. Several startups have begun designing new SSTs (supersonic transports, as the Concorde was called).

These new designs, built with modern techniques and computer-aided design, aim to reduce the sonic boom impact and improve fuel economy. Boom Supersonic has been making headlines with its planned Overture airliner and has secured orders from United and American Airlines.

While it hasn’t flown yet, the projected cruise speed of the Overture is Mach 1.75, making a flight from London to New York in about 3 hours, 30 minutes.

What Is a Commercial Plane?

When most people think of a commercial plane, they envision the airliner they’re booking tickets on. Commercial aviation has a lot of components, and airlines are the most visible part. 

The most common type of airliner used today is a twin-engine turbofan.

Boeing and Airbus are major manufacturers, although Embraer and several other makers are now making smaller models. These planes are designed and built based on the airlines’ need to carry so many people so many miles at a time as efficiently as possible.

So, different models are made for short, medium, and long-haul flights.

And, of course, planes range from small models with 50 seats (or even less in some cases) to large “heavies” that can carry 500 or more. 

When an airline decides which planes to buy and which routes to fly it on, it always comes down to dollars and cents.

Flying a large-capacity, long-haul plane nearly empty on short legs means not covering the flight’s cost and losing money. So airlines must constantly analyze the planes they have and want based on how they operate them.

More to the point, the speed at which a plane operates is a factor of its efficiency.

Ideally, the quicker one flight is done, then another can begin—with a new batch of paying customers. But getting there fast isn’t the only factor because flying faster uses more fuel.

Want to become a more confident pilot?

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel where we post FREE content to help student pilots understand the art of aviation.

Be entertained and educated on our TikTok channel .

Or check out some of our most popular articles on how to become an airline pilot and airline pilot salaries .

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Airplane Cruise – Balanced Forces

Four Forces

There are four forces that act on an aircraft in flight: lift, weight, thrust, and drag. A force is a vector quantity which means that it has both a magnitude (size) and a direction associated with it. If the size and direction of the forces acting on an object are exactly balanced, then there is no  net force  acting on the object and the object is said to be in equilibrium. From Newton’s  first law of motion,  we know that an object at rest will stay at rest, and an object in motion (constant velocity) will stay in motion unless acted on by an external force. If there is no net external force, the object will maintain a constant velocity.

Cruise Velocity

In an ideal situation, the forces acting on an aircraft in flight can produce no net external force. In this situation the lift is equal to the weight, and the thrust is equal to the drag. The closest example of this condition is a  cruising  airliner. While the weight decreases due to fuel burned, the change is very small relative to the total aircraft weight. The aircraft maintains a constant airspeed called the  cruise velocity .

Relative Velocity

If we take into account the relative velocity of the wind, we can determine the ground speed of a cruising aircraft. The ground speed is equal to the airspeed plus the wind speed using vector addition. The motion of the aircraft is a pure translation. With a constant ground speed, it is relatively easy to determine the aircraft range, the distance the airplane can fly with a given load of fuel.

If the pilot changes the throttle setting, or increases the wing angle of attack, the forces become unbalanced. The aircraft will move in the direction of the greater force, and we can compute acceleration of the aircraft from Newton’s  second law of motion .

Thanks for contacting us! We will get in touch with you shortly.

V-Speeds Explained (Vx, Vy, Va, Vs, Vfe, Vmc, Vno, Vne, etc)

What Are V-Speeds?

Mach numbers and v-speeds, v-speeds list, most important v-speeds explained.

• VR: Rotation Speed
• VX: Best Angle of Climb Speed
• VY: Best Rate of Climb Speed
• VA: Maneuvering Speed
• VFE: Maximum Flaps Extended Speed
• VLE: Maximum Landing Gear Extended Speed
• VNE: Never Exceed Speed
• VNO: Maximum Structural Cruising Speed
• VS: Stall Speed
• V1: Takeoff Decision Speed
• V2: Takeoff Safety Speed
• VEF: Critical Engine Failure Speed During Takeoff
• VMC: Minimum Control Speed

Final Thoughts

Ask a pilot how many V-speeds exist, and you’ll get an answer anywhere between “What’s a V-speed?” and “Probably a thousand.”

I’m happy to report that there aren’t a thousand, but there are a few you should be aware of.

In this article, we’ll explain everything you need to know about V-speeds. Plus, we’ve created a handy list so that you never have to Google them again.

V-speeds are specific airspeeds that are defined for operational reasons, such as limitations (e.g., maximum flaps extended speed – V FE ) or performance requirements (e.g., best rate of climb speed – V Y ).

In other words, V-speeds serve as critical benchmarks that guide pilots in managing the aircraft’s performance and ensuring safety.

For example, the rotation speed (V R ) is the speed at which the pilot initiates a gentle rotation of the aircraft to lift off the ground during takeoff. 

A V-speed may change depending on factors such as aircraft weight and weather conditions, but its designation (e.g., V R ) remains the same.

You may find several V-speeds on the internet that aren’t listed here. That’s because the V-speeds we’re talking about today are defined in 14 CFR Part 1 , as well as 14 CFR Part 23 and Part 25 (used for aircraft certification).

Any other V-speeds you encounter are likely manufacturer-specific and aren’t regarded as official V-speeds by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) .

You may find V-speeds with an “M” instead of the usual “V” (M MO instead of V MO , for example).

This means that the particular speed is defined using a Mach number.

V-speeds can be defined using any type of airspeed , such as knots or miles per hour, but the designation remains “V” unless a Mach number is used – then it becomes “M”.

Let’s take a look at the V-speeds you’re most likely to encounter – and the ones you should know.

As we go through them, use the Pilot’s Operating Handbook (POH) for the airplane you fly, and make a note of the speed for each V-speed. If it isn’t defined in the POH or is variable, make sure you know how to calculate it.

You’ll make your life a whole lot easier if you take the time to memorize them.

V R : Rotation Speed 

V R is the speed at which the pilot gently pulls back on the control column to lift the nose off of the runway during takeoff.

For most commercial aircraft, V R varies for each takeoff depending on the weight and configuration of the aircraft as well as environmental factors like weather or runway conditions.

In most General Aviation (GA) aircraft, V R is usually the same regardless of conditions.

It might seem obvious, but V R cannot be less than the stall speed (VS 1 – more on that later).

V X : Best Angle of Climb Speed 

V X is the airspeed that provides the best angle of climb. In other words, if you maintain V X , you’ll gain the most altitude in the shortest horizontal distance.

This speed is your go-to for a short-field takeoff, particularly when there are obstacles that you need to climb above during takeoff.

You should practice climbing at V X (and short-field takeoffs) regularly, as it is a critical skill during short-field operations.

V Y : Best Rate of Climb Speed

V Y is the airspeed for best rate of climb. In other words, if you maintain V Y , you’ll gain the most altitude in the shortest amount of time.

Compared to V X , you’ll use more horizontal distance.

V Y is the speed typically used during climb.

V A : Maneuvering Speed

V A is the aircraft’s design maneuvering speed. It is the speed above which you risk damaging the aircraft’s structure if you make a full deflection of a flight control (e.g., full-up elevator). 

If you make a full deflection of a flight control at or below V A , the aircraft will stall before the structure is damaged.

You should not use full deflection of any flight control above V A . That being said, repeated full deflection of any flight controls (such as full right rudder and then full left rudder, for example) is not recommended, even below V A .

V A isn’t a fixed figure; it varies with weight. If the aircraft’s weight decreases, V A decreases as well, and vice versa.

V FE : Maximum Flaps Extended Speed

V FE , or maximum flap extended speed, is the highest speed permissible with the flaps extended. 

This speed is your boundary marker when flying with flaps down, ensuring you don’t cause potential structural damage.

Not all aircraft treat V FE as a singular speed regardless of flap setting. Most aircraft, like the Cessna 172, have different V FE speeds for different flap settings.

In the Cessna 172, you can fly with 10 degrees of flaps below 110 knots. Anything more than 10 degrees of flaps, and you’re limited to 85 knots instead.

V LE : Maximum Landing Gear Extended Speed

V LE , or maximum landing gear extended speed, is the top speed at which you can safely fly with the landing gear extended.

A related speed is V LO , or maximum landing gear operating speed, the speed above which you cannot extend or retract the landing gear. 

V LO is typically lower than V LE due to the aerodynamic forces exerted on the landing gear during extension or retraction.

V NE : Never Exceed Speed

V NE , or “never exceed” speed, is exactly that. The speed above which you should never venture under any circumstances.

V NO : Maximum Structural Cruising Speed

V NO , the maximum structural cruising speed, is the highest speed that you can safely fly in smooth air. 

V NO is marked by the upper limit of the green arc on the airspeed indicator . 

If you’re above V NO (in the yellow arc or “caution range”) and you encounter air that is not smooth, you could cause damage to the aircraft.

For example, if you encounter turbulence, the “bumps” you experience will increase the load factor. If you fly above V NO in these conditions, the increase in load factor could damage the aircraft’s structure.

V S : Stall Speed

V S represents stall speed, essentially the lowest speed your aircraft can maintain steady flight.

When it comes to V S , there’s an important caveat.

An aircraft can stall at any speed. 

A stall occurs when the aircraft exceeds the critical angle of attack. This can happen at any airspeed. 

Say a pilot is descending at a high airspeed, far from V S . If they quickly pitch up, the aircraft may exceed the critical angle of attack and stall, despite being at a high airspeed.

So, why do we define V S ?

Well, in a “normal” attitude (think straight-and-level), the aircraft is only at risk of stalling if:

• The pilot makes a dramatic control input that quickly increases the angle of attack, or
• The pilot maintains altitude while the airspeed decreases, gradually increasing the angle of attack and eventually stalling at VS.

So, can the aircraft stall at any airspeed? Yes.

When is it most likely to stall? At V S .

The V-speed for stall speed is divided into two types:

• V S0 – the stall speed in the landing configuration (e.g., flaps and gear down)
• V S1 – the stall speed in a specific configuration (e.g., ‘clean’ – flaps and gear up)

The difference between the stall speed with the flaps down versus the flaps up is significant, so it makes sense to differentiate between the two.

One final note about V S .

Every manufacturer determines the stall speed for their aircraft. The test for stall speed is performed with the throttle closed at maximum takeoff weight.

This means that you may experience a lower stall speed than published in the POH if you’re flying at a lower weight or the throttle isn’t closed.

For more information on stall speed testing regulations, see AC 23-8C , § 23.49, page 15.

V 1 : Takeoff Decision Speed

V 1 , or the takeoff decision speed, is the speed by which the decision to continue the takeoff or abort must be made.

The primary purpose of V 1 is to serve as a decision point. If a critical system fails (such as an engine) or other anomalies occur before reaching V 1 , there will be sufficient runway remaining to abort the takeoff safely. 

However, once V 1 is surpassed, the takeoff should continue, as there will not be enough runway left to stop safely.

V 1 is not a fixed number and is calculated before each takeoff, taking into account several factors, including aircraft weight, runway length, environmental conditions, and aircraft performance data.

V 1 is where the pilot must take the first action (such as reducing thrust) to stop the aircraft , or risk a runway overrun.

It’s important to note that V 1 also relates to the aircraft’s performance capability in case of an engine failure. After V 1 , the aircraft must have the performance capability to continue the takeoff on the remaining engines and achieve the required climb performance.

That’s where V 2 , or takeoff safety speed, comes into play.

V 2 : Takeoff Safety Speed

V 2 , known as the takeoff safety speed, is the minimum speed at which the aircraft can maintain a specified rate of climb with one engine inoperative.

The primary goal of V 2 is to ensure a safe climb gradient in an engine failure scenario. This speed ensures that the aircraft can maintain a positive rate of climb to clear obstacles and reach a safer altitude.

The aircraft must be able to achieve V 2 at a minimum of 35 ft above the end of the runway distance after an engine failure at V 1 .

V EF : Critical Engine Failure Speed During Takeoff

V EF is the worst possible speed the critical engine can fail while allowing the takeoff to be completed successfully. 

Interestingly, it is not at V 1 , but actually before.

This may sound strange, because we should abort the takeoff if an engine failure occurs before V 1 , right? 

Well, regulations state that takeoff performance calculations should account for an engine failure that is close enough to V 1 that the pilot does not have enough time to abort at V 1 .

In other words, if the engine fails right before V 1 without enough time to react, the aircraft must be able to take off safely and achieve V 2 at the specified height and distance.

V MC : Minimum Control Speed

V MC , or minimum control speed, represents the lowest speed at which a multi-engine aircraft can maintain controlled flight with one engine inoperative and the other at full power.

V EF may not be less than V MC , and V 2min may not be less than 1.1 times V MC .

V MC is often divided into two distinct speeds: V MCA and V MCG , each addressing a different aspect of aircraft control under asymmetric thrust conditions.

V MCA : Minimum Control Speed Air

V MCA is the minimum speed at which the aircraft can maintain controlled flight in the air with one engine failed and the other at full power.

Below V MCA , the aircraft may become uncontrollable due to the loss of directional control, making it a critical speed to be aware of during flight operations.

V MCG : Minimum Control Speed Ground

V MCG , on the other hand, is the minimum speed at which the aircraft can maintain directional control on the ground with one engine inoperative and the other at full power. 

It’s a vital speed to know during the takeoff roll, ensuring that control can be maintained if an engine fails during takeoff.

V-speeds are critical references that ensure safety and efficiency. They are the result of meticulous calculations and real-world testing, and shouldn’t be disregarded.

You may have even encountered these speeds when flying without knowing it.

One thing’s for sure, you’ll notice them now!

Similar Articles

The 6 Types of Altitude in Aviation (Airplane Pilots)

AVIATES Acronym Explained

The 7 Types of Fog Every Pilot Should Know

Scored % on their FAA Exam

• Metals & Electronics ›
• Aerospace & Defense Manufacturing

Industry-specific and extensively researched technical data (partially from exclusive partnerships). A paid subscription is required for full access.

List of most popular commercial airlners by cruising speed

Cruising speeds of the most common types of commercial airliners (in knots).

To access all Premium Statistics, you need a paid Statista Account

• Immediate access to all statistics
• Incl. source references
• Download as PDF, XLS, PNG and PPT

Additional Information

Show sources information Show publisher information Use Ask Statista Research Service

September 2016

2012 to 2016

This data displays the average cruising speed of the most commonly used airliners in the world. Where data for multiple models within a family exists, the average cruising speed is given. Data on the cruising speed of the Embraer ERJ 145 Family was not available and therefore it does not appear on this chart. * Average combined cruising speed of Boeing-777 models 200ER, 200LR, 300, and 300ER. ** Cruising speed of a Boeing 737-400. *** Average combined cruising speed of Embraer models E170, E175, E175-E2, E190, E190-E2, E195, and E195-E2. **** Average combined cruising speed of Airbus A340 models 200, 300, 500, and 600. ***** Average combined cruising speed of Boeing 737 models 600, 700C, 700ER, 800, and 900ER. ****** Average combined cruising speed of Bombardier CRJ models 100, 200, 440, 700, 705, 900, and 1000. ******* Average combined cruising speed of ATR 72 models 200, 210, and 600.

Other statistics on the topic

Global air traffic - annual growth of passenger demand 2006-2024

Industrial Machinery Manufacturing

General Electric: revenue by segment 2022

Air cargo traffic - worldwide volume 2004-2023

Rolls-Royce: underlying revenue by segment 2022

To download this statistic in XLS format you need a Statista Account

To download this statistic in PNG format you need a Statista Account

To download this statistic in PDF format you need a Statista Account

To download this statistic in PPT format you need a Statista Account

As a Premium user you get access to the detailed source references and background information about this statistic.

As a Premium user you get access to background information and details about the release of this statistic.

As soon as this statistic is updated, you will immediately be notified via e-mail.

… to incorporate the statistic into your presentation at any time.

You need at least a Starter Account to use this feature.

• Immediate access to statistics, forecasts & reports
• Usage and publication rights
• Download in various formats

You only have access to basic statistics. This statistic is not included in your account.

• Instant access  to 1m statistics
• Download  in XLS, PDF & PNG format
• Detailed  references

Business Solutions including all features.

Other statistics that may interest you

• Aircraft deliveries by manufacturer - global aircraft fleet 1999-2021
• List of military aircraft with cruising speeds in excess of 1,000 knots
• Aircraft manufacturers - key figures 2021
• Narrowbody jets in global aircraft fleet 2022-2032
• Business jet deliveries by manufacturer - global aircraft fleet 2020
• Number of business jets in APAC 2020, by OEM
• Number of business jets APAC 2020, by size
• Global commercial fleet - regional aircraft deliveries by manufacturers 2020
• Global commercial fleet - regional aircraft deliveries by region 2017-2019
• List of military helicopters with cruising speeds in excess of 155 knots
• Total consolidated fleet of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines 2021, by type of airplane
• Air France-KLM fleet by aircraft type 2022
• Commercial aircraft with in-flight connectivity access worldwide 2016-2030
• Global market size: in-flight connectivity services 2012-2029
• Wi-Fi availability on airlines globally by available seat miles 2017
• Wi-Fi availability on airlines globally by region 2016
• Types of Wi-Fi connectivity at airports worldwide 2016-2019
• Airbus - order backlog by region in 2006-2016
• Global commercial aircraft deliveries of leading regional airlines 2020
• Leading airports in Germany in September 2020, based on departures
• Size of business jet fleet in Singapore 2017-2022
• Size of the business jet fleet in Malaysia 2017-2022
• Total business jet fleet APAC 2019, by OEM
• Total business jet fleet in Indonesia 2017-2022
• COVID-19: opinion of French tourism professionals on plane travel 2020
• Aircraft fleet in the Middle East - OEM share 2021
• Number of Alitalia aircraft 2017, by model
• Argentina - airline flown most frequently 2018
• Brazil - airline flown most frequently 2018
• U.S. airport enplanements by state and air carrier category 2018
• UK: aerospace sector's output for 2010-2020
• Seat capacity of low cost carriers worldwide 2008-2017
• Airbus and Boeing aircraft with in-flight entertainment and connectivity (IFEC) 2017
• Revenue of the global leading aerospace and defense manufacturers 2022
• Passenger traffic at London Heathrow Airport by region 2021
• Aircraft fleet of Southwest Airlines 2011-2023
• El Dorado International Airport: monthly passenger traffic 2019-2021
• Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport - operating expenses 2015-2021
• Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta Airport - non-aeronautical revenue per passenger 2013-2021
• Types of government aid to airlines due to COVID-19 as of September 2021

Other statistics that may interest you Statistics on

About the industry

• Premium Statistic Aircraft deliveries by manufacturer - global aircraft fleet 1999-2021
• Premium Statistic List of military aircraft with cruising speeds in excess of 1,000 knots
• Premium Statistic Aircraft manufacturers - key figures 2021
• Basic Statistic Narrowbody jets in global aircraft fleet 2022-2032
• Premium Statistic Business jet deliveries by manufacturer - global aircraft fleet 2020
• Premium Statistic Number of business jets in APAC 2020, by OEM
• Premium Statistic Number of business jets APAC 2020, by size
• Premium Statistic Global commercial fleet - regional aircraft deliveries by manufacturers 2020
• Premium Statistic Global commercial fleet - regional aircraft deliveries by region 2017-2019
• Premium Statistic List of military helicopters with cruising speeds in excess of 155 knots

About the region

• Premium Statistic Total consolidated fleet of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines 2021, by type of airplane
• Premium Statistic Air France-KLM fleet by aircraft type 2022
• Premium Statistic Commercial aircraft with in-flight connectivity access worldwide 2016-2030
• Premium Statistic Global market size: in-flight connectivity services 2012-2029
• Premium Statistic Wi-Fi availability on airlines globally by available seat miles 2017
• Premium Statistic Wi-Fi availability on airlines globally by region 2016
• Premium Statistic Types of Wi-Fi connectivity at airports worldwide 2016-2019
• Premium Statistic Airbus - order backlog by region in 2006-2016
• Premium Statistic Global commercial aircraft deliveries of leading regional airlines 2020
• Premium Statistic Leading airports in Germany in September 2020, based on departures

Other regions

• Premium Statistic Size of business jet fleet in Singapore 2017-2022
• Premium Statistic Size of the business jet fleet in Malaysia 2017-2022
• Premium Statistic Total business jet fleet APAC 2019, by OEM
• Premium Statistic Total business jet fleet in Indonesia 2017-2022
• Premium Statistic COVID-19: opinion of French tourism professionals on plane travel 2020
• Premium Statistic Aircraft fleet in the Middle East - OEM share 2021
• Premium Statistic Number of Alitalia aircraft 2017, by model
• Premium Statistic Argentina - airline flown most frequently 2018
• Premium Statistic Brazil - airline flown most frequently 2018
• Basic Statistic U.S. airport enplanements by state and air carrier category 2018

Related statistics

• Premium Statistic UK: aerospace sector's output for 2010-2020
• Premium Statistic Seat capacity of low cost carriers worldwide 2008-2017
• Premium Statistic Airbus and Boeing aircraft with in-flight entertainment and connectivity (IFEC) 2017
• Premium Statistic Revenue of the global leading aerospace and defense manufacturers 2022
• Basic Statistic Passenger traffic at London Heathrow Airport by region 2021
• Premium Statistic Aircraft fleet of Southwest Airlines 2011-2023
• Premium Statistic El Dorado International Airport: monthly passenger traffic 2019-2021
• Premium Statistic Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport - operating expenses 2015-2021
• Premium Statistic Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta Airport - non-aeronautical revenue per passenger 2013-2021
• Premium Statistic Types of government aid to airlines due to COVID-19 as of September 2021

Further related statistics

• Premium Statistic Number of passenger aircraft of China Southern Airlines 2011-2021, by manufacturer
• Basic Statistic U.S. airports - public & private 2011
• Premium Statistic Business class air fares used by corporate clients - growth forecast 2011-2012
• Basic Statistic U.S. airline industry - transport related revenues

Further Content: You might find this interesting as well

• Number of passenger aircraft of China Southern Airlines 2011-2021, by manufacturer
• U.S. airports - public & private 2011
• Business class air fares used by corporate clients - growth forecast 2011-2012
• U.S. airline industry - transport related revenues

Simple Flying

The most produced aircraft: what is the cessna 172's cruise speed.

The popular piston plane has benefited from speed enhancements over the decades.

The Cessna 172 Skyhawk is famous for being the most-produced aircraft of all time, with over 45,000 airframes built since the first rolled off the production line in 1956. This legendary general aviation light aircraft will go down in history as one of the most reliable, efficient, and versatile planes ever built, capable of performing all kinds of roles.

Interestingly, despite major advancements in technology and design since the 172 was released, the plane's cruise speed hasn't changed too much over the decades. Instead, upgrades to the aircraft have tended to boost its reliability, avionics, and safety. Nonetheless, modern Cessna 172 models are still almost 20% faster than the original, so some improvements have been made in this department.

Cessna 172 cruise speed

The current in-production model of the 172 series is the Cessna 172S Skyhawk SP, offering modern upgrades like a glass cockpit, Garmin G1000 NXi avionics suite and a 180-horsepower Lycoming IO-360-L2A engine. Compared to the previous model, the 172R, the 172S features an additional 20HP, and the Garmin G1000 suite comes as standard, among other tweaks.

As per Textron Aviation, the aircraft's maximum cruise speed is 124 knots (142 mph or 230 km/h), with a maximum range of 640 NM (1,185 km) and a climb rate of up to 730 fpm. However, this range can change depending on engine power, altitude, and weight of aircraft.

Discover more aviation news with Simple Flying.

Modest speed increases

As mentioned earlier, the Skyhawk's cruise speed has risen modestly over the decades, but improvements haven't been dramatic given the limitations of a single-engine piston aircraft. The first Cessna 172 model was fitted with a 145HP Continental O-300 engine before an upgrade to the Lycoming O-320 around a decade later.

According to 172guide , the first Cessna 172 had a cruise speed of 108 knots (132 mph or 212 km/h), which was gradually increased in future iterations:

• 172C (1962): Continental O-300-C - 114 knots at 7,000 ft altitude
• 172I (1968): Lycoming O-320-E2D - 114 knots at 9,000 ft altitude
• 172N (1979): Lycoming O-320-H2AD - 122 knots at 8,000 ft altitude

Let's compare some of the specs of the first Cessna 172 with the in-production 172S:

A Look At Why The Cessna 172 Is The Best Selling Aircraft In The World

Against the competition.

The 172 is well ahead of other trainers in terms of aircraft built and sold. However, when looking at its specs compared to those of its rivals, it doesn't outshine them in all departments. In fact, if we look at cruise speed alone (at 75% engine power), it is sometimes slightly slower than most of its counterparts.

Piper PA-28 Cherokee

Take the Piper PA-28 Cherokee, for example, which is generally considered the main rival to the Cessna 172 series. Entering service in the early 1960s, the PA-28 initially offered a higher cruise speed of over 120 knots, although the current in-production Piper's have a similar cruise speed to the Cessna 172S.

Diamond DA40

The Diamond DA40 is, without a doubt, a faster aircraft than the 172, with an initial cruise speed of 145 knots when it came out in 1997. The most up-to-date variant - the DA40 NG - is powered by a 168 hp Austro Engine AE300, which offers a cruise speed of 154 knots, as well as a higher service ceiling of 16,000ft.

Beechcraft Musketeer

The Beechcraft Musketeer is another popular trainer aircraft and one of the few that is slower than the 172. Take the Beechcraft Musketeer Sport II, for example, which has a cruise speed of 108 knots, well below the 172S' 124 knots, or the Musketeer Custom II, which offers a cruise speed of 102 knots.

Comparing the 172 and 182

Simple Flying recently took a deep dive into the differences between the 172 Skyhawk and the larger Cessna 182 Skylane , another popular trainer and general aviation aircraft. The Skylane is Cessna's second most popular aircraft still in production behind the 172 and a feasible alternative for flight schools and private owners.

The 182 features a more powerful Lycoming IO-540-AB1A5 engine, giving it a cruise speed of 145 knots - on top of this, its extra fuel capacity gives it almost 50% more range than the 172 at 930 NM.

A training favorite

The Cessna 172's ease of operation makes it a clear favorite for student pilots, and you can find a Cessna 172 at just about every flight school in the world. Cessna estimates an average of 75 flight hours to earn a private license.

5 Reasons The Cessna 172 Is A Favorite With Flight Training Schools

The plane also boasts exceptional reliability and an immaculate safety record, with a fatality rate of 0.56 fatal crashes per 100,000 flying hours, which is less than half the industry standard of 1.2-1.4 per 100,000.

Have you ever flown a Cessna 172? Let us know your stories in the comments.

Everything about V Speeds Explained

Richie lengel.

FAA regulations could change at any time. Please refer to current FARs to ensure you are legal. Illustration by Tim Barker

— From the French word vitesse, meaning “speed.”

— Maximum speed in the takeoff at which the pilot must take the first action (e.g., apply brakes, reduce thrust, deploy speedbrakes) to stop the airplane within the accelerate-stop distance. V1 also means the minimum speed in the takeoff, following a failure of the critical engine at VEF, at which the pilot can continue the takeoff and achieve the required height above the surface within the takeoff distance.

— Takeoff safety speed for jets, turboprops or transport-category aircraft. Best climb gradient speed (i.e., best altitude increase per mile with the most critical engine inop). Twin-engine aircraft with an engine inop are guaranteed a 2.4 percent climb gradient (24 feet up per 1,000 feet forward). Minimum speed to be maintained to at least 400 feet agl.

— Minimum takeoff safety speed. Usually 1.2 times the stall speed in takeoff configuration.

Save money during flight lessons, and become a better IFR pilot with Sporty’s complete Instrument Rating Course.

— Design maneuvering speed. The highest safe airspeed for abrupt control deflection or for operation in turbulence or severe gusts. It does not allow for multiple large control inputs. If only one speed is published it is usually determined at max landing weight. This speed decreases as weight decreases. Formula for determining VA at less than max landing weight: VA2 equals VA multiplied by current weight divided by max landing weight.

— Maximum speed for airbrake extension.

— Maximum speed for airbrake operation.

— Missed-approach climb speed for flap configuration with critical engine inop (2.1 percent climb gradient).

— Approach target speed. VREF plus configuration (flaps/slats setting) and wind factor. Typically add (to VREF) half the headwind component plus all the gust factor (to a max of 20 knots).

— Design speed for maximum gust intensity for transport-category aircraft or other aircraft certified under Part 25. Turbulent-air penetration speed that protects the structure in 66 fps gusts.

— Design cruising speed. Speed at which the aircraft was designed to cruise. The completed aircraft may actually cruise slower or faster than VC. It is the highest speed at which the structure must withstand the FAA’s hypothetical “standard 50 fps gust.”

— Design diving speed. The aircraft is designed to be capable of diving to this speed (in very smooth air) and be free of flutter, control reversal or buffeting. Control surfaces have a natural vibration frequency where they begin to “flutter” like a flag in a stiff breeze. If flutter begins, it can become catastrophic in a matter of seconds. It can worsen until the aircraft is destroyed, even if airspeed is reduced as soon as flutter begins.

— Accelerate/stop decision speed for multiengine piston and light multiengine turboprops.

— Demonstrated flight diving speed. VDF is in knots. MDF is a percentage of Mach number. Some aircraft are incapable of reaching VD because of a lack of power or excess drag. When this is the case, the test pilot dives to the maximum speed possible — the demonstrated flight diving speed.

— Speed at which the critical engine is assumed to fail during takeoff (used in certification tests).

— En route climb speed with critical engine inop. Jets accelerate to VENR above 1,500 feet agl.

— Design flap speed. The flaps are designed to be operated at this maximum speed. If the engineers did a good job, the actual flap speed, or VFE, will be the same.

— Maximum speed for undesirable flight characteristics. It must be regarded with the same respect as VNE: redline. Instability could develop beyond the pilot’s ability to recover. VFC is expressed in knots; MFC is expressed in percentage of Mach.

— Maximum flap-extended speed. Top of white arc. The highest speed permissible with wing flaps in a prescribed extended position. Many aircraft allow the use of approach flaps at speeds higher than VFE. Positive load for Normal category airplanes is usually reduced from 3.8 Gs to 2 Gs with the flaps down, and negative load is reduced from minus 1.52 Gs to zero. The purpose of flaps during landing is to enable steeper approaches without increasing the airspeed.

— Flap retract speed. The minimum speed required for flap retraction after takeoff.

— Final segment speed (jet takeoff) with critical engine inop. Accelerate to VFS at 400 feet agl.

— Final takeoff speed. End of the takeoff path. En route configuration. One engine inoperative.

— Best glide speed. This speed decreases as weight decreases.

— Maximum speed in level flight with maximum continuous power. Mainly used for aircraft advertising. Ultralights are limited by Part 103 to a VH of 55 knots.

— Maximum landing gear extended speed. Maximum speed at which an airplane can be safely flown with the landing gear extended.

— Maximum landing light extended speed.

— Maximum landing light operating speed.

— Maximum landing gear operating speed. Maximum speed at which the landing gear can be safely extended or retracted. Usually limited by air loads on the wheel-well doors. On some aircraft, the doors close after extension, allowing acceleration to VLE. In an emergency involving loss of control — when the ground is getting close and the airspeed is quickly approaching redline — forget about this speed. Throw the gear out! As a now famous Flying magazine writer once said, you might lose a gear door, but it's far better than losing a wing.

— Liftoff speed. Speed at which the aircraft becomes airborne. Back pressure is applied at VR (rotate) — a somewhat lower speed — so that liftoff actually happens at VLOF.

VMCA or VMC

— More commonly known as VMC (although VMCA is more correct). Minimum control speed with the critical engine (usually the left) inoperative out of ground effect in the air — “red line” — and most critical engine inop and windmilling; 5 degrees of bank toward the operative engine; takeoff power on operative engine; gear up; flaps up; and most rearward CG. In this configuration, if airspeed is allowed to diminish below VMC, even full rudder cannot prevent a yaw toward the dead engine. At slower speeds, the slower-moving wing — the one with the failed engine — will stall first. VMC is not a constant; it can be reduced by feathering the prop, moving the CG forward and reducing power.

— Minimum speed necessary to maintain directional control after an engine failure during the takeoff roll while still on the ground. Determined using aerodynamic controls with no reliance on nosewheel steering. Applies to jets, turboprops or transport-category aircraft.

— Maximum operating limit speed for turboprops or jets. VMO is indicated airspeed measured in knots and is mainly a structural limitation that is the effective speed limit at lower altitudes. MMO is a percentage of Mach limited by the change to the aircraft’s handling characteristics as localized airflow approaches the speed of sound, creating shock waves that can alter controllability. As altitude increases, indicated airspeed decreases while Mach remains constant. MMO is the effective speed limit (“barber pole” on the airspeed indicator) at higher altitudes. MMO is usually much higher for swept-wing jets than for straight-wing designs.

— Minimum unstick speed. Slowest speed at which an aircraft can become airborne. Originated as a result of testing for the world’s first jet transport, the de Havilland Comet. During an ill-fated takeoff attempt, the nose was raised so high and prematurely that the resultant drag prevented further acceleration and liftoff. Tests were then established to ensure that future heavy transports could safely take off with the tail touching the ground and maintain this attitude until out of ground effect.

— Never-exceed speed — “red line.” Applies only to piston-powered airplanes. This speed is never more than 90 percent of VDF. G loads imposed by any turbulence can easily overstress an aircraft at this speed.

— “No” go there. Maximum structural cruising speed. Beginning of the yellow arc, or caution range. Theoretically, a brand-new aircraft can withstand the FAA’s 50 fps gust at this speed. Unfortunately, the pilot has no way of measuring gust intensity.

— Rotation speed. Recommended speed to start applying back pressure on the yoke, rotating the nose so, ideally, the aircraft lifts off the ground at VLOF.

— Calculated reference speed for final approach. Final approach speed. Usually 1.3 times VSO or higher. Small airplanes: bottom of white arc plus 30 percent. Jets: calculated from landing-performance charts that consider weight, temperature and field elevation. To this speed jets typically calculate an approach speed (VAP) by adding (to VREF) half the headwind component plus the gust factor (to a max of 20 knots).

— Stall speed or minimum steady flight speed at which the airplane is controllable. VS is a generic term and usually does not correspond to a specific airspeed.

— Stall speed or minimum steady flight speed in a specific configuration. Normally regarded as the “clean” — gear and flaps up — stall speed. Lower limit of the green arc (remember, “stuff in”). However, this is not always the case. It could represent stall speed with flaps in takeoff position or any number of different configurations. So VS1 is a clean stall, but the definition of “clean” could vary.

— Stall speed in landing configuration. Lower limit of white arc. Stalling speed or the minimum steady flight speed at which the airplane is controllable in landing configuration: engines at idle, props in low pitch, usually full wing flaps, cowl flaps closed, CG at ­maximum forward limit (i.e., most unfavorable CG) and max gross landing weight. Maximum allowable VSO for single-engine aircraft and many light twins is 61 knots (remember, “stuff out”).

— Minimum safe single-engine speed (multi). Provides a ­reasonable margin against an unintentional stall when making intentional engine cuts during training.

— Takeoff safety speed for Category A rotorcraft.

— Maximum windshield-wiper operating speed.

— Best angle-of-climb speed. Delivers the greatest gain of altitude in the shortest possible horizontal distance. The speed given in the flight manual is good only at sea level, at max gross weight and with flaps in takeoff position. VX increases with altitude (about ½ knot per 1,000 feet) and usually decreases with a reduction of weight. It will take more time to gain altitude at VX because of the slower speed, but the goal is to gain the most altitude in the shortest horizontal distance.

— Best single-engine angle-of-climb speed (multiengine, 12,500 pounds or less).

— Best rate-of-climb speed. Delivers the greatest gain in altitude in the shortest time. Flaps and gear up. Decreases as weight is reduced, and decreases with altitude. Lift-to-drag ratio is usually at its maximum at this speed, so it can also be used as a good ballpark figure for best glide speed or maximum-endurance speed for holding.

READ MORE: VX vs. VY

— Best single-engine rate-of-climb speed — “blue line” — (multiengine, 12,500 pounds or less).

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Get the latest FLYING stories delivered directly to your inbox

Subscribe to our newsletter

• AntennaTracker
• Mission Planner
• APM Planner 2
• Companion Computers
• Advanced User Tools
• Developer Tools
• Support Forums
• Developer Chat (Discord)
• Developer Voice (Discord)
• Getting involved
• Commercial Support
• Development Team
• UAS Training Centers
• Acknowledgments
• Wiki Editing Guide
• Partners Program
• First Flight
• Tuning Cruise Configuration
• Edit on GitHub

Tuning Cruise Configuration ¶

Overview of constant altitude, level flight operation ¶.

“Hands-off” constant altitude hold cruising occurs in automatic throttle modes such as FBWB, CRUISE, AUTO, GUIDED, CIRCLE, LOITER, RTL, etc. See Flight Modes for the full list of automatic throttle modes.

In FBWB and CRUISE modes, without an airspeed sensor, the autopilot will set the target throttle at TRIM_THROTTLE with the throttle at mid-stick, and adjust pitch to hold altitude. The airspeed will be whatever results from the change in thrust. Raising the throttle stick will increase throttle and thereby airspeed.

When using an airspeed sensor, the autopilot will use throttle position to set the target airspeed as a linear interpolation between AIRSPEED_MAX and AIRSPEED_MIN . And pitch will be adjusted for constant altitude flight.

In the automatic throttle controlled modes, AIRSPEED_CRUISE is used for the target airspeed if an airspeed sensor is being used, while TRIM_THROTTLE will be set for the average throttle value if no sensor is used. In AUTO and GUIDED modes, the THROTTLE_NUDGE option allows the pilot to tweak these values while in flight with the throttle, if desired, in these modes.

While TRIM_THROTTLE is not used when using an airspeed sensor directly, it is important to set it at a working value since it will be used in case of an airspeed sensor failure.

AHRS Level Attitude ¶

During Accelerometer Calibration , a “level” attitude position is set with the wings and fuselage perfectly level. A plane can fly holding a constant altitude at range of speeds, depending on throttle level and Angle of Attack (AOA).

The AOA is usually several degrees but varies depending on cruise speed/throttle. This is the “trim level” pitch. This is explained in the diagrams above and is known as the “trim level” condition. While many planes will have some Angle of Incidence (i.e. the cord of the wing is at a positive angle to the fuselage cord) built-in, some do not, and some need a slightly higher AOA to fly at desired cruise speeds.

If the level step of calibration is done with the plane’s fuselage line level, initial flights will be safe, but the aircraft may not hold altitude at the desired flying speed in non-altitude controlled modes (i.e. require too much throttle to hold altitude and/or the cruising speed may be faster or slower than desired).

Adjusting FBWB or CRUISE Mode Airspeed ¶

The autopilot’s goal in automatic throttle modes is to obtain the correct combination of elevator and throttle to maintain constant altitude flight. How the autopilot does this is detailed in TECS (Total Energy Control System) for Speed and Height Tuning Guide .

When an Airspeed Sensor is Enabled ¶

In FBWB or CRUISE, the target airspeed can be directly controlled with the throttle stick position. Mid throttle will set the speed as halfway between AIRSPEED_MAX (high stick) and AIRSPEED_MIN (low stick).

The TRIM_THROTTLE parameter should be adjusted to the average throttle value used at cruise speed. It optimizes the bias point for the speed control loops and is used in case of airspeed failure.

While cruising, the artificial horizon in the OSD or GCS may show an average positive or negative pitch above the level indicator (ie fuselage/autopilot level). This means that the “trim level” pitch or AOA is different than what was set during the accelerometer calibration step. This can be trimmed out so that non altitude controlled modes fly at the same speed and throttle. Do this by adjusting the pitch trim, adding the desired degrees nose up or down using PTCH_TRIM_DEG . This also optimizes the speed control loop bias point and will allow non altitude controlled modes to fly level at the same throttle and speed.

Using PTCH_TRIM_DEG to adjust cruise attitude will also add an offset to the artificial horizon on a GCS or an OSD, but this can be disabled, if desired, using the FLIGHT_OPTIONS bitmask bits 8 and/or 9, if the attitude of the autopilot in level flight is desired, rather than a leveled artificial horizon when flying level .

Without an Airspeed Sensor ¶

Without an airspeed sensor, both the pitch trim and the TRIM_THROTTLE parameter would need to be changed appropriately for the desired mid-stick cruise speed.

Often planes need 2 or 3 degrees of pitch trim to fly at their optimum cruising speed/throttle rather than at the fuselage/autopilot level pitch, especially small light planes or gliders. This can be done at setup by:

(Preferred) Add the desired degrees nose up(usually) or down to PTCH_TRIM_DEG .

Position vehicle with a few degrees nose up or down during the first, Level step of accelerometer calibration to match the cruising attitude.

Position vehicle with a few degrees nose up and use the Calibrate Level button on the Mission Planner page. This adjusts the AHRS_TRIM parameters. AHRS_TRIM parameters can only change the difference between the autopilot’s plane and “level” by 10 degrees maximum. If more is needed, (e.g. the autopilot is mounted slightly downward), then you can use PTCH_TRIM_DEG to alter the AOA manually.

You can examine ATT.Pitch in the logs when at cruise speed in FBWB or CRUISE to determine the average pitch trim required in these modes. Appropriately adjusting PTCH_TRIM_DEG to lower this to zero when flying level in these modes.

when using PTCH_TRIM_DEG to adjust trim, it will be reflected in the ATT.Pitch log message, and also in the OSD and GCS horizon displays (ie level horizon pitch = PTCH_TRIM_DEG + the calibrated level pitch) so that the display will be level when flying “in trim” even though the plane’s pitch is different than the autopilots calibrated pitch.

• The Inventory

Support Quartz

Fund next-gen business journalism with $10 a month

Free Newsletters

So many cruise ship passengers got so sick that a United Airlines flight had to be deep-cleaned

Thirty of the 75 cruise ship passengers onboard the 737 max 8 experienced flu-like symptoms and vomitted.

More than two dozen passengers on a United Airlines flight from Vancouver to Houston who were previously on a cruise puked so much on the plane that it had to be taken out of service for deep cleaning . No, this isn’t the plot of “Airplane!”

Related Content

Thirty of the 75 cruise passengers onboard the United 737 Max 8 started puking their guts up after getting flu-like symptoms in the middle of their flight to the Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston . We can only assume it ruined the experience of the 163 passengers and six crew members on board. They were met with emergency responders on the ground, according to the Daily Mail . Three of the pukers were evaluated at the scene, but it was determined that none of them required medical attention. Now, the plane has been pulled from United’s rotation as it undergoes a very-needed deep cleaning.

USA Today spoke with United about the incident, and this is what the airline had to say:

“Several passengers who had been on the same cruise and did not feel well were on United Flight 1528 from Vancouver to Houston Friday night,” United told USA TODAY in an emailed statement. The airline did not answer a question about what cruise line or ship the flyers had been traveling on before their flight. “United Airlines is actively coordinating with health authorities to address the situation,” the airline’s statement continued. “As a precautionary measure, the aircraft will be removed from service and go through a deep cleaning before returning to service. Ensuring the health and safety of our passengers and crew remains our top priority.”

This is just the latest instance of air travel being an absolute nightmare. We’ve recently reported on how turbulence is actually getting worse , a naked man running through the isle of a Virgin Australia flight , an engine fire leading to a Boeing plane needing to make an emergency landing and a SEPARATE plane vomiting story where 70 passengers got sick. This has all happened in the last month.

A version of this article originally appeared on Jalopnik .

📬 Sign up for the Daily Brief

Our free, fast, and fun briefing on the global economy, delivered every weekday morning.

HANGAR FLYING - Timely stories, conversation, and inspirational insights that share The Spirit of Aviation.

Engine failures during cruise, part 1.

In Flying Tips , Ultralights .

By Mark Murray, EAA 394554

This piece originally ran in the April 2024 issue of EAA Sport Aviation magazine.

Well, that didn’t go to plan. You departed point A with the expectation of arriving at point B. But, because of an engine failure, you arrived at point C, a narrow access road leading to a cotton field. It’s a pretty field, and the road is long and smooth. It’s not where you wanted to be, but you are safe and healthy and the airplane will fly again eventually. Like the old joke goes, it wasn’t just a good landing, it was a great landing.

What really irks me is when someone says, “Wow, you were lucky that field was there.” While it’s true that the flight didn’t go as planned, the landing did. Luck had nothing to do with it. Some of the planning was done well beforehand, and some was done in the moment. All of it was successful because of initial training, continued practice, and planning for the inevitable.

In previous articles, we discussed planning for engine failure on takeoff and in the airport pattern. Now, let’s look at how we can plan for that emergency in cruise.

Glide Ratio vs. Sink Rate?

Just like most things in aviation, you’ll fall down a deep rabbit hole of information when you study engine-off airplane performance. Nothing wrong with that. Details are great. But most of us need some basic how-to pointers when thinking this through. And the thrust of this article is attempting to glide in simple, draggy ultralights and light-sport aircraft. So, we’re gonna keep it simple.

Glide ratio and sink rate are two terms you’ll come across often when evaluating an airplane’s engine-off performance. Glide ratio is defined as “the ratio of speed divided by descent rate.” A more understandable definition is “the distance of forward travel divided by the altitude lost in that distance.” Obviously, an airplane that glides forward 10 miles for every 1 mile of altitude loss is a better glider than one that glides at 5-to-1. Sink rate is defined as how much altitude you lose over time. For example, an airplane that loses 500 feet per minute is gliding much better than one that loses 1,000 feet per minute.

I recently got caught up in a “vigorous discussion” online about which value was more useful to a pilot who has just experienced an engine failure — glide ratio or sink rate. I was leaning heavily toward sink rate when I realized that it’s not a smart question.

After the engine failure, knowledge of neither really help if you haven’t done your homework beforehand. True, I find a lot of comfort gliding an airplane that’s going to give me twice as long to set it down from 1,000 feet AGL, thus the reason I’m a fan of known sink rates. But, if I’m not aware of my glide ratio, that time isn’t going to necessarily get me to a safe landing zone.

Glide ratio is great for airplane glide comparisons. But in the heat of the moment of an actual engine failure, it’s highly unlikely you’re gonna whip out your trusty E-6B flight calculator at 1,000 feet in your Aerolite and calculate how far that ratio will get you. But, do you realize you are already running a mental E-6B program every time you fly?

Every time you set up a descent rate for a normal landing, you’re mentally calculating how much descent is needed over a given amount of distance and time to arrive at a certain spot on the runway. True, you rely on numbers such as airspeed and engine rpm to get you there, but you also use a visual glide slope, the sight picture of the airplane in relationship to the horizon, which is actually no more than a reference point for your actual angle of attack. That is then transmitted visually back to you as a numerical representation of air pressure on an indicator (airspeed). Your brain is doing all of that automatically. And yes, it becomes much more natural through practice.

Years ago, an experienced flight instructor told me that a good landing is nothing more than rolling up to a stop sign in a three-dimensional world. When he got the deer in the headlights look from me, he explained that within time, it becomes natural to spot the stop sign well ahead, know when to let off the gas pedal, know how long to coast, when to apply brake pressure, and how much. And you do all that without numbers.

I was reminded recently of how this skill has to be learned while teaching my son how to drive. I’m glad to say he smoothly rolls up to stop signs now, but it took some time to hone those skills. (By the way, I will never be a driving instructor. Flight instruction only for me, thank you very much.)

With that in mind, think back to my recommendation to practice airport pattern engine-idle spot landings (“Engine Failures Happen: Just own it,” August 2023). In some ways, removing power from the landing equation makes the maneuver easier, and practicing it gives you a lot of confidence in the pattern. Now, let’s transfer that knowledge to cruise flight. Assuming your landing zone is straight ahead, the maneuver is even easier now as no turns are necessary (in reality, it hardly ever works out way, but stay with me for a moment).

So, let’s practice it. This is actually an easy and fun learning technique. Spot a potential landing zone straight ahead, pull power to idle, maintain whichever airspeed seems to work, and see if you can make that field. You won’t land but have a predetermined “wave-off” altitude where you apply power and climb back out. Try again, starting at the same altitude and position, and try a different speed. I usually start with my normal approach speed and decrease on every try while keeping safely above stall speed.

You’ll learn several things, such as which speed gives you the best distance or time. With ultralights and draggy light-sport aircraft, you may find there isn’t much difference in time and distance between a few selected speeds. Or maybe you will. It depends on the airplane. Most importantly, you’ll start to learn just how far you can “coast to the stop sign,” and it’ll start to become second nature.

Disclaimer: All of this is to be done taking necessary precautions such as maintaining safe speeds, altitudes, and distances from obstructions, maintaining appropriate engine temperatures, etc.

But, in the real world, you have more options. When practicing this with students, with nothing but trees straight ahead, I’ll surprise the students by pulling the power to idle (Yes, every CFI relishes this “pop quiz.” Don’t let any of them tell you different.) I watch their reactions. After dropping the nose and establishing the glide speed, I ask, “Where are we going to land?” Usually, students start frantically looking straight ahead, trying to find that little “goat path” that might work.

I say, “Yeah, maybe. But what about beside or behind us?” Then, they start looking around and realize landing zones are all around us, maybe even directly below us. This is where the previous practice with spot landings combined with straight-ahead glides start to pay off. You are starting to create the mental version of a glide ratio calculator.

At any given time during cruise, if the engine was to fail, all around you in every direction, you are looking at your possible landing sites. Go back to the definition of glide ratio: “the distance of forward travel divided by the altitude lost in that distance.” At altitude, have you ever tried to guess the distance of a landmark? Try it sometime.

Spot a distant airport, guess how far you are, and then pull it up on GPS. It’s surprising how difficult it is to judge distance in flight. So, just knowing you have a 10-to-1 glide ratio isn’t going to help. But by practicing gliding, you will. Knowing intuitively how far out you can land is your mental E-6B. I call this the “cone of possibilities.” Or, in other words, looking out in all directions, you should start to get a sense of how far you can glide.

Interestingly, it’s not uncommon for my students to ask, “Okay, if it was to quit right now, could we make that field, or that one behind us?” Most of the time I know. Sometimes, if I’m uncertain, we’ll cut to idle and try. It’s good practice for us both.

This also brings up another interesting point. Sometimes the best option is the one directly below you, especially if your airplane is very draggy. Gliding practice will make all the difference.

Going Mental

So, again, the point is that practice makes perfect. We have lots of awesome information and gadgets available nowadays, many much more sophisticated than the trusty old E-6B. But, as we become more “gadget dependent,” it seems we’re losing some of the basic skills that differentiate a pilot from an aviator. This practice, even if you never experience an engine failure, makes you a better aviator.

Next time, in Part 2, and the final of this series discussing engine failures, we’ll discuss setting up that final glide to the cotton patch.

Mark Murray , EAA 394554, of Georgetown, Georgia, was always fascinated by airplanes, and then discovered ultralights thanks to an article published in National Geographic in 1983. In 2008, he earned his light-sport repairman maintenance rating and turned his hobby into a business, eventually becoming a CFI and an A&P mechanic.

Post Comments

Two dozen United Airlines passengers fell ill on flight, had been on cruise

Around two dozen passengers fell ill on a United Airlines flight from Vancouver, Canada to Houston, Texas on Friday.

Approximately 25 people traveling in a group of 75 had nausea, according to Capt. Sedrick Robinett of the Houston Fire Department. HFD evaluated three passengers upon the plane’s arrival at George Bush Intercontinental Airport but none were transported to the hospital, he said.

“Several passengers who had been on the same cruise and did not feel well were on United Flight 1528 from Vancouver to Houston Friday night,” United told USA TODAY in an emailed statement. The airline did not answer a question about what cruise line or ship the flyers had been traveling on before their flight.

“United Airlines is actively coordinating with health authorities to address the situation,” the airline’s statement continued. “As a precautionary measure, the aircraft will be removed from service and go through a deep cleaning before returning to service. Ensuring the health and safety of our passengers and crew remains our top priority.”

Is there a doctor on board?: Usually, yes. Here's why.

The Houston Health Department referred a request for comment to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"Public health officers from CDC’s Houston Port Health Station worked with EMS to evaluate ill passengers on board," a CDC spokesperson said in an emailed statement. "Most of the ill passengers reported mild GI symptoms. No passengers were noted to have a fever during the flight or upon public health assessment at landing. No passengers met CDC criteria for further public health follow-up. Passengers from the flight continued with their travel plans."

The news comes after dozens of passengers on a Condor flight from Mauritius to Frankfurt, Germany mysteriously became sick with nausea and vomiting last month.

Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at [email protected].

30 cruise ship passengers fall ill on Boeing plane flying home to Texas

A United Airlines flight from Canada to Texas descended into chaos on Friday after 30 passengers who had been on a cruise ship fell ill.

The Boeing 737 Max plane landed at the Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston at around 6pm on Friday where it was met by emergency responders from the Houston Fire Department.

Officials from the fire department noted that the passengers were exhibiting flu-like symptoms and complaining of nausea.

Three passengers were examined by first responders, but none needed medical assistance.

The plane was later withdrawn for deep cleaning.

United Airlines confirmed the incident, saying that various flyers from the cruise were ill and were aboard the same flight. It is not clear what caused the sudden symptoms in the passengers.

According to the airline, 163 passengers and six crew members had been on the flight, which took off from Vancouver.

It comes after 70 of the 290 passengers on board Condor airline Flight DE2315 fell ill while it was traveling from Mauritius to Frankfurt in May.

The plane was halfway through its journey to the German city when it became clear that many passengers on board were suffering from a bug, reporting symptoms including nausea and vomiting.

The aircraft landed in Frankfurt at around 5.33pm where it was greeted with a large contingent of emergency services after the crew had called ahead to alert officials on the ground of the unfolding emergency.

A spokesperson for the German airline confirmed the incident to the country’s Bild tabloid, adding that the crew was not affected by the illness.

“She [the pilot/crew] is also educated and trained for special situations like this,” the statement to the newspaper said.

“After carefully examining the overall situation, the flight continued. The aircraft landed safely in Frankfurt, where medical professionals were available to care for the affected guests.”

The cause of the sudden wave of illness was not confirmed. However, the airline noted that the food onboard would have been prepared in Mauritius.

“[We have] already initiated an investigation into the case to get to the bottom of the cause and to derive possible measures from it,” the spokesperson added.

“Condor is working closely with all responsible partners and authorities. There is currently no result available.”

The Independent is the world’s most free-thinking news brand, providing global news, commentary and analysis for the independently-minded. We have grown a huge, global readership of independently minded individuals, who value our trusted voice and commitment to positive change. Our mission, making change happen, has never been as important as it is today.