5 World Speed Records List
When it comes to speed, most people don’t even think about it until a police officer apprehends them and gives them a ticket for speeding, isn’t it? When unsupervised, speeding may turn into disasters, but when done under the supervision of experts and with proper precautions, you can scale the heights of glory for speeding. World speed records are officially maintained for just about everything that moves. Here is a collection of some speed records set by some of the world’s fastest-moving vehicles. Most of these vehicles were specially designed by experts, and all were operated by highly trained professionals.
1. Land Car
The land speed record was set on October 15, 1997 in Black Rock Desert in Nevada by Andy Green, a British fighter pilot, when he drove his car at a speed of 763.05 miles per hour. It took him only a few seconds to travel one mile and he became the first driver to reach supersonic speed (761 miles per hour) and break the sound barrier.
2. Railed Vehicle
The record for being the fastest railed vehicle was set by the fastest passenger train ‘TGV’of France that touched the top speed of 456 miles per hour in a test run in 1990.
3. Waterborne Vehicle
In 1998, the Spirit of Australia, steered by an Australian Ken Warby, set the record for being the fastest waterborne vehicle with an average speed of approximately 318.75 miles per hour. Warby not only piloted his jet-powered speed boat but he had also built this sophisticated hydroplane in his backyard.
4. Motorcycle
Chris Carr, a motorcycle racer, has the record of being the f astest man on two wheels.On September 5, 2006, at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, he broke the existing motorcycle speed record with an unbelievable speed of 350.8 miles per hour.
5. Bicycle
The official record for a regular unpaced bicycle is 51.29 miles per hour over 200 metres set by Jim Glover in Vancouver in 1986.
The sleek bikes on which the rider sits in a reclined posture with legs extended forward are known as recumbent bicycles and are used in cycling sports. Sam Whittingham, a Canadian cyclist, set the recumbent bicycle speed record on October 5, 2002, when he touched a speed of 81 miles per hour over 200 metres.
The fastest long-distance sailing ship is the Orange II. In July 2006, Orange II, piloted by French yachtsman Bruno Peyron, set the record for being the fastest transatlantic ship when it crossed the Atlantic Ocean at an average speed of 28 knots (about 32 miles per hour). Orange II completed the cruise in the record time of 4 days, 8 hours, 23 minutes and 54 seconds.
World’s Fastes t Roller Coaster
Though it is fixed at one place and never walks out of the park, KingdaKa roller coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure amusement park in Jackson, New Jersey, is the world’s fastes t roller coaster. Opened in 2005, the KingdaKa coaster can reach up to a speed of 128 miles per hour in just 3.5 seconds. It has a highly advanced safety system to keep the riders in their seats, but after this whirlwind of a ride whether their food will stay in their stomachs is a different question!
To read more interesting Sports for kids articles, CLICK HERE