How High Can An Airplane Fly?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

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Commercial typically fly between 31,000 and 38,000 feet —

about 5.9 to 7.2 miles

— high and usually reach their cruising altitudes in the first 10 minutes of a flight, according to Beckman. Planes can fly much higher than this altitude, but that can present safety issues.

Can planes fly at 50000 feet?

The highest that a business jet can fly is 51,000 feet. The highest that a commercial airplane can fly is 45,000 feet.

Most military planes fly

at around 50,000 feet and sometimes higher. Some rocket-powered planes can fly as high as 100,000 feet but they are specially designed for this purpose.

What happens if a plane flies too high?

If a passenger jet flies too high it

reaches a point called ‘Coffin Corner'

. This is the point at which the aircraft's low speed stall and high-speed buffet meet and the plane can no longer maintain its altitude which forces it to descend.

What is the maximum height An aircraft can fly?

Question: What is the highest altitude an airplane can fly? Answer: The highest commercial airliner altitude was 60,000 feet by Concorde. The highest military air-breathing engine airplane was the SR-71 — about 90,000 feet. The highest airliner flying today reaches

45,000 feet

.

Can planes fly at 80000 feet?

A: It depends on the wing and how much air can be kept flowing over it.

The SR-71 routinely flew over

80,000 feet, but it was a very special wing. The space shuttle began encountering “usable” air around 100,000 feet during descent; it, too, was a very special wing and vehicle.

Can a plane accidentally fly into space?


Planes can and have flown

into space for over 50 years – though not the kind you see at the airport. That's because conventional planes need air for both propulsion and lift, and space is essentially a vacuum.

Why do aircraft fly at 35000 feet?

The biggest reason for this altitude lies

with fuel efficiency

. The thin air creates less drag on the aircraft, which means the plane can use less fuel in order to maintain speed. Less wind resistance, more power, less effort, so to speak. Spending less on fuel is also great for airlines, for obvious reasons.

Do pilots sleep while flying?

Do pilots sleep on their job?

Yes, they do

. And however alarming it may seem, they are actually encouraged to do so. It's good to take a short nap during flights, but there are strict rules that control this practice.

Do planes fly over Everest?

Tim Morgan, a commercial pilot writing for Quora says aircraft can fly above 40,000 feet, and hence it is possible to fly over Mount Everest which stands at 29,031.69 feet. However,

typical flight routes do not travel above Mount Everest

as the mountains create unforgiving weather.

How cold is it at 35000 feet?

How cold is it up there? The higher you get, the colder it gets, up until 40,000 feet. If the temperature at ground level was 20C, at 40,000 feet it would be -57C. At 35,000 feet the air temperature is

about -54C

.

Why do planes do not fly over the Pacific?

The main reason flight don't go over the Pacific Ocean is

because curved routes are shorter than straight routes

. Flat maps are confusing as the earth itself isn't flat. As a result the straight routes don't offer the shortest distance.

How do pilots fly planes?

The pilot

controls the roll of the plane by raising one aileron or the other with a control wheel

. Turning the control wheel clockwise raises the right aileron and lowers the left aileron, which rolls the aircraft to the right. The rudder works to control the yaw of the plane.

Can a plane outrun the sun?


Yes

– but only in theory. The Earth is roughly 40,000km in circumference at the equator, and completes one rotation every 24 hours. This means that the Sun effectively zooms across the face of the Earth at the equator at around 1,700km/h. So you'd have to travel at least this fast to stay in daylight.

Is there oxygen at 35000 feet?

In other words,

there's ample air at 35,000 feet

, and there is sufficient oxygen in it. In fact, there's even a reasonable amount of air at the altitude where the International Space Station operates!

How far up is space?

Answer: Space is

62 vertical miles away

. It takes a lot of energy to overcome gravity for that distance and gain the speed required to stay in orbit (approximately 17,500 miles per hour) once you've arrived.

How long can a plane fly without fuel?

So, how long can an airplane fly without refueling? The longest commercial flight without refueling lasted

23 hours

, covering a distance of 12,427 miles (20,000 km ). The longest non-stop commercial flight route as of today is 9,540 miles (15,300 km) long and lasts nearly 18 hours.

David Evans
Author
David Evans
David is a seasoned automotive enthusiast. He is a graduate of Mechanical Engineering and has a passion for all things related to cars and vehicles. With his extensive knowledge of cars and other vehicles, David is an authority in the industry.