Why are planes slow? Everything else is speeding up: smartphones, the Internet, the pace of life in general! So when are we going to get a superfast passenger jet that can cross continents in the time it takes to watch just one inflight movie versus several?

Speed has always interested engineers and pilots. At least at first, they were pretty good at getting these metal birds to fly faster and faster. As long ago as in 1945, a German test pilot reached a speed of 610 mph. But then, something happened and speed stopped growing. Any guesses why?

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices