Who doesn’t find world records interesting? It’s always fun to know “the smallest” or “the fastest”, the most extreme of the most extremes. The following are some aircraft-related world records. These are official; they’re all in the Guinness World Records.

Smallest jet aircraft
A home-built Bede BD-5J Microjet owned by Juan Jimenez of San Juan, Puerto Rico, USA is the world’s smallest jet aircraft. It measures 3.7 m (12 ft) long, has a 5.7 m (17 ft) wingspan, and can fly at 483 km/h (300 mph). The Microjet weighs only 162 kg (358 lbs), which is much, much lighter than an elephant.

Most aircraft flown in as a passenger
This record belongs to Edwin A. Shackleton of the UK. As of January 2007, he has flown in 841 different types of aircraft, including balloons, airships, helicopters, and microlights. His first flight was in 1943 in a De Havilland DH 89 Dominie. That’s a lot of flights!

Fastest 100m team aircraft pull - 737 class
On January 27, 2001, a team of ten Royal Marine reserves from all over the UK pulled a Boeing 737-300 that weighed 37 tonnes (81,500 lbs) a distance of 100 m (328 ft) in 43.2 seconds at Manchester Airport.

Heaviest aircraft pulled (individual)
An even more impressive feat than the aforementioned was performed by David Huxley, who on October 15, 1997 at Sydney, Australia, pulled a Boeing 747-400 a distance of 91 m (298.5 ft) in 1 minute and 27.7 seconds. The 747-400’s weight was a whopping 187 tonnes (184 tons).