Flight altitude record


This listing of flight altitude records are the records set for the highest aeronautical flights conducted in the atmosphere, set since the age of ballooning.
Some, but not all of the records were certified by the non-profit international aviation organization, the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. One reason for a lack of 'official' certification was that the flight occurred prior to the creation of the FAI.
For clarity, the "Fixed-wing aircraft" table is sorted by FAI-designated categories as determined by whether the record-creating aircraft left the ground by its own power, or whether it was first carried aloft by a carrier-aircraft prior to its record setting event. Other sub-categories describe the airframe, and more importantly, the powerplant type.
An essential requirement for the creation of an "official" altitude record is the employment of FAI-certified observers present during the record-setting flight. Thus several records noted are unofficial due to the lack of such observers.

Balloons

On November 26, 2005, Vijaypat Singhania set the world altitude record for highest hot-air-balloon flight, reaching. He launched from downtown Bombay, India, and landed south in Panchale. The previous record of had been set by Per Lindstrand on June 6, 1988 in Plano, Texas.

Unmanned gas balloon

During 1893 French scientist Jules Richard constructed sounding balloons. These unmanned balloons, carrying light, but very precise instruments, approached an altitude of.
The U.S. altitude record for unmanned balloons was . The vehicle was a Winzen-Balloon with a volume of 1.35 million cubic metres, launched in October 1972 in Chico, California, USA.
During 2002 an ultra-thin-film balloon named BU60-1 made of polyethylene film 3.4 µm thick with a volume of 60,000 m³ was launched from Sanriku Balloon Center at Ofunato City, Iwate in Japan at 6:35 on May 23, 2002. The balloon ascended at a speed of 260 m per minute and successfully reached the altitude of, breaking the previous world record set during 1972.

Gliders

On February 17, 1986, The highest altitude obtained by a soaring aircraft was set at by Robert Harris using lee waves over California City, United States.
This was surpassed at set on August 30, 2006 by Steve Fossett and Einar Enevoldson in their high performance research glider Perlan 1, a modified Glaser-Dirks DG-500. This record was also achieved over El Calafate and set as part of the Perlan Project.
This was raised at on September 3, 2017 by Jim Payne and Morgan Sandercock in the Perlan 2, a special built high altitude research glider. This record was again achieved over El Calafate and as part of the Perlan Project.
On September 2, 2018, within the Airbus Perlan Mission II, again from El Calafate, the Perlan II piloted by Jim Payne and Tim Gardner reached, surpassing the attained by Jerry Hoyt on April 17, 1989 in a Lockheed U-2: the highest subsonic flight.

Fixed-wing aircraft

Piston-driven propeller aeroplane

The highest altitude obtained by a piston-driven propeller UAV is. It was obtained during 1988–1989 by the Boeing Condor UAV.
The highest altitude obtained in a piston-driven propeller biplane was on October 22, 1938 by Mario Pezzi at Montecelio, Italy in a Caproni Ca.161 driven by a Piaggio XI R.C. engine.
The highest altitude obtained in a piston-driven propeller monoplane was on August 4, 1995 by the Grob Strato 2C driven by two Teledyne Continental TSIO-550 engines.

Jet aircraft

The highest current world absolute general aviation altitude record propelled aircraft is set by Aleksandr Vasilyevich Fedotov, in a Mikoyan Gurevitch E-266M, on August 31, 1977.

Rocket plane

The highest altitude obtained by a manned aeroplane is by Brian Binnie in the Scaled Composites SpaceShipOne on October 4, 2004 at Mojave, CA. The SpaceShipOne was launched at over 43,500 ft. The previous record was set by Joseph A. Walker in a North American X-15 in mission X-15 Flight 91 on August 22, 1963. Walker had reached 106 km – crossing the Kármán line the first time – with X-15 Flight 90 the previous month.
The record for highest altitude obtained by a rocket-powered aircraft was on May 2, 1958 by Roger Carpentier over Istres, France in a Sud-Ouest Trident II mixed power aircraft. The unofficial altitude record for aircraft with self-powered takeoff was on December 6, 1963 by Major Robert W. Smith in a Lockheed NF-104A mixed power aircraft.

Electrically powered aircraft

The highest altitude obtained by an electrically powered aircraft is on August 14, 2001 by the NASA Helios, and is the highest altitude in horizontal flight by a winged aircraft. This is also the altitude record for propeller driven aircraft, FAI class U, and FAI class U-1.d.

Rotorcraft

On June 21, 1972, Jean Boulet of France piloted an Aérospatiale SA 315B Lama helicopter to an absolute altitude record of. At that extreme altitude, the engine flamed out and Boulet had to land the helicopter by breaking another record: the longest successful autorotation in history.
The helicopter was stripped of all unnecessary equipment prior to the flight to minimize weight, and the pilot breathed supplemental oxygen.
The on March 23, 2002 by Fred North. North achieved an altitude of 12954 m in a Eurocopter AS350 B2.

Paper airplanes

The highest altitude obtained by a paper plane is currently for the Paper Aircraft Released Into Space project, which was released at an altitude of, from a helium balloon that was launched approximately west of Madrid, Spain on October 28, 2010, and recorded by The Register's "special projects bureau". The project achieved a Guinness world record recognition.

Cannon rounds

The current world-record for highest cannon projectile flight is held by Project HARP’s 16-inch space gun prototype, which fired a 180 kg Martlet 2 projectile to record height of 180 km in Yuma, Arizona, on November 18, 1966. The projectile’s trajectory briefly sent it into space, making it the first cannon-fired projectile to exit the atmosphere.
The Paris Gun was a German long-range siege gun used to bombard Paris during World War I. It was in service from March–August 1918. Its 106-kilogram shells had a range of about with a maximum altitude of about.