What is the highest flying propeller plane?
by 
Charles Varvaro
ANSWERS: 4
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The current altitude record for a piston engine aircraft (from which you may infer that it employs a propeller) is approximatly 52,600 ft, by an Air Force B-29. I'm sorry I don't know more precise info. The record was recently challenged unsuccessfully by Bruce Bohannon in his customized RV-4. See http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archives/avflash/272-full.html#187849
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On 8/13/01 NASA's Helios drone research aircraft set a world altitude record of 96,863 feet. The 246' wingspan plane was propelled by 14 electric motors powered by 62,120 solar cells.
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In 1959 an F-104 Starfighter 'zoom climbed' to 103,395 feet!!!!, which means the info on the Vigilante being the highest, is incorrect.
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In 1989 the Boeing Condor set the piston engine altitude record of 66,980 feet. The Condor was a high tech test bed drone reconnaissance aircraft with a wing span of over 200 feet. It had an unrefueled flight duration of 80 hours. Power came from two 175 hp, six cylinder, twin supercharged, liquid cooled Continental engines. It can be seen on display at the Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos, California. In 1988 the Grobb Egrett set the turboprop altitude record of 53,574 feet. The Egrett is a manned reconnaissance aircraft with a wing span of 108 feet, a top speed of 170 mph and a range of 1,300 miles. Five Egretts were built for evaluation by the German and U.S. air forces, but did not meet their requirements. Since then, some have been used by private companies as high-altitude research vehicles.
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