How fast do aeroplanes with propellers fly?

Answer 1

It depends greatly on the size, weight and configuration of the plane involved. Obviously, smaller planes with more powerful engines would trump larger planes with less powerful engines.

The thing about prop planes is that they are limited by physics. At around the dawn of the Jet Age (late 1930s), prop-planes were driven by reciprocating engines. The issue was that making such engines bigger also made them heavier without a significant power advantage. Both in-line and radial engines could only go so fast, and propellers could only be so big before their weight started robbing performance. At around that time, the P-51D Mustang, one of the most ubiquitous aircraft of the war, could go around 400 miles per hour. The first jet-fighter, Germany's Me 262, could travel well over 500 miles per hour. After the war, propeller-planes were improved on, but never went significantly faster than top speeds achieved during World War II. Now, they are used primarily because of their advantages in economy and simplicity, not their top speed.