Many military planes could fly even faster.
In £, the rocket-powered X- set
the world record for the fastest manned
airplane flight. It reached a speed of
, miles per hour (, km/h). That is
£. times the speed of sound.
Planes that fly faster than sound are
known as supersonic. A supersonic
plane flies so fast that the air around it
cannot move out of the way. This causes
pressure to collect around the plane’s
nose and tail. Shockwaves ripple out in
all directions. When the waves hit the
ground, people hear a loud sound called
a sonic boom. Because of this boom,
supersonic planes were banned from
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