Commercial aircraft 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.
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. The highest business jet flying today reaches 51,000 feet.
What height does a Boeing 747 fly at?
Every flight has its own ideal cruising altitude. This is the sweet spot where plane fly as fast as possible, but burn the least amount of fuel. A Boeing 747 has a cross height of 35,105 ft , while the Embraer climbs 190 to 39,370 ft. The Airbus A380 can even fly at 43,097 ft.
What happens if an airplane 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.
Can a plane fly over Mount Everest?
The first men to fly over Mount Everest did so in an unpressurized biplane . The two planes fly towards Lhotse and Everest at 32,000 feet. Though the 29,029-foot-high summit of Mount Everest was first conquered on foot by Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary in 1953, it was conquered by air two decades earlier.
HOW HIGH CAN military jets fly?
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.
Why do planes fly at 35000 feet?
The biggest reason for this altitude lies in fuel efficiency . The thin air creates less drag on the aircraft, which means the plane can use less fuel in order to maintain speed.
What happens to wee and poo on a plane?
Instead, when you flush it opens a valve at the bottom of the toilet bowl and creates a deafening pneumatic vacuum – powered by the difference in air pressure between outside and inside the cabin – which sucks the waste down a sewage pipe and into a 200-gallon tank elsewhere on the plane.
What is the fastest plane?
Lockheed SR-71 BlackbirdHow high can a helicopter fly?
Turbine-engined helicopters can reach around 25,000 feet . But the maximum height at which a helicopter can hover is much lower – a high performance helicopter like the Agusta A109E can hover at 10,400 feet.
Why do private jets fly so high?
A private jet can fly at a height of up to 45 000 ft, though most cruise at 41 000 ft. This is generally higher than an airline flight and allows for a more direct route – out of the most congested area of the sky . A private jet pilot will choose the optimum cruising altitude depending on the distance of the journey.
Do planes fly above rain?
The wings and engines of today's aircraft work together to produce “lift,” which moves the plane upward off the ground by changing the direction and pressure of the air. In general, rain does not impede this process— in the majority of cases, the answer to whether planes can fly in the rain in a resounding “yes.”
Why do planes not fly over the Pacific Ocean?
Flying over the Pacific Ocean is avoided by most airlines for most flights because it usually doesn't make sense to fly over it when shorter and safer routes exist . The Pacific Ocean is also more remote and less safe than the Indian and Atlantic Oceans to fly over, resulting in a higher chance of a plane crashing.
Can a plane accidentally fly into space?
Cars, trucks and SUVs all use air as part of their combustion process. If an airplane flies in space, it won't be able to suck in fresh air with which to supply its engines, resulting in loss of propulsion. The bottom line is that airplanes can't fly in space because there is no air in space .
What happens if a plane door opens mid flight?
The door opening would cause a rapid decompression that would depressurize the plane cabin in a matter of seconds, causing a strong suction pull . This strong suction pull would cause all loose objects to be sucked outside the plane, including people who aren't buckled in.
Can a dog climb Mount Everest?
In fact, the 8-month-old mixed-breed dog has become the first dog in recorded history to reach the Mount Everest Base Camp . Rupee's ascent is no small feat — the Everest Base Camp sits at a whopping altitude of 17,598 feet.
Why can't planes fly over Antarctica?
What is this? The polar regions interfere with magnetic navigational equipment, making it harder for planes to navigate . It can also be difficult for planes to connect with flight controllers because of the location's isolation.
Why can't you climb Everest in the summer?
Mount Everest's changeable, extreme climate , in particular, is a determining factor. The summit temperature never rises above freezing, or 0° C (32° F). Its summit temperatures in January average -36° C (-32 ° F) and can drop to -60° C (-76° F), and its average summit temperature in July is -2° F (-19° C).
Is the u2 a stealth plane?
| U-2 | First flight 1 August 1955 | Introduction 1956 | Status In service |
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HOW LOW CAN military planes fly?
In combat, many aircraft will operate at altitudes as low as 100 feet and at high airspeeds to defeat ground missile radars and avoid sophisticated surface-to-air missiles, anti-aircraft artillery, and enemy fighters.
How high can birds fly?
Many bird species live in habitats that are over 13,123 feet (4,000 m) above sea level, and others routinely fly to altitudes of approximately 10,000 to 13,000 feet (3,000 to 4,000 m) , especially when they're migrating, said Graham Scott, an assistant professor of biology at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada.
Do planes fly above clouds?
One reason that planes cruise above the clouds is so they can fly fast . The higher airplanes climb, the thinner the air gets, and the more efficiently they can fly because of less resistance in the atmosphere, according to Ryan Jorgenson, an aviation data analyst.
How cold is it at 40000 feet?
Between 30,000 and 40,000 feet (9,000 and 12,000 m), the cruising altitude of most jet aircraft, air temperature ranges from -40° F to -70° F (-40° C to -57° C).
What speed do planes fly at?
A typical commercial passenger jet flies at a speed of about 400 – 500 knots which is around 460 – 575 mph when cruising at about 36,000ft. This is about Mach 0.75 – 0.85 or in other words, about 75-85% of the speed of sound. Generally speaking, the higher the aircraft flies, the faster it can travel.
Do planes eject toilet waste?
From the lavatory, the waste travels through the plane's pipes to the rear of the plane and remains in a tank that can only be accessed from the exterior of the plane — pilots can't clear the tanks during the flight. The tank is emptied by special service trucks once the plane is safely on the ground .
Do planes drop poop?
The name comes from the blue color of the disinfectant. Airlines are not allowed to dump their waste tanks in mid-flight , and pilots have no mechanism by which to do so; however, leaks sometimes do occur from a plane's septic tank.
Why are airplane toilets so loud?
So why are aircraft toilet flushes so loud? Simply put, the flush's loudness is due to a partial vacuum that sucks the contents of the toilet bowl down into the aircraft's waste tank .
