[Guest]

Allright, I'm sick of conflicting stats on aircraft top speed. I research a plane and get the "official" top speed. Then I find other accounts from pilots, developers, etc. that are often higher than the "official" statistic. Here's some examples. The P-51D is supposed to have a top speed of 437mph. I've seen acounts of it doing around 445mph. The P-47M is quoted at 473mph while I've read that it could do over 500mph. My personal favorite: the XP-51G had a quoted top speed of 472mph while being quoted at 498mph elsewhere. So, my question is, are aircraft manufacturers and air forces delibertely trying to lie about their planes. I'm sure this is the case for other countries but I'm American and American planes are what I know best.