A long time ago Scott wrote about aircraft speeds and thrusts and about that
they didn't match up with COACC.
The normal way an aircraft work is that the thrust of the engine decrease
or is constant while the counterforce from the air resistance grows. When
they are equal, the plane stops accelerating. Some aircrafts, like the
fuel-guzzling Saab JA-37 Viggen will be at bingo fuel long before this happens,
so their real top speed is unknown in a way.
Different engine types have also different thrust vs speed charts, which is
why ramjets/after burners are such a good idea at great speeds.
Thus you can reach very high speeds with a low thrust engine, if the a/c has
low air resistance and the thrust of the engine don't decrease. The anti-grav
of Traveller gives a thrust dependent on power input (ref Striker). Exactly
how they manage this non-physical feat is unknown, but a vehicle using it
should have a top speed only dependent on the relationship between air
resistance and thrust.
As for aircrafts, it would depend on air resistance versus thrust and the
type of engine used.
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