How high can a plane fly?

Some business jets can soar up to 15,000 meters, while most military aircraft can fly at this altitude or even a little higher. However, these aircraft tend to stay below 15,000 feet for safety reasons, as the air can become too thin and make it impossible to burn aviation fuel continuously.

What is the highest a plane has ever flown?

Highest known flights: YF-12A (60-6936) – 80,257 feet, USAF, official, 1 May 1965. SR-71B (61-7956) – 84,700 feet, NASA, unofficial, 18 October 1994. SR-71A (61-7962) – 85,068 feet, USAF, official, 28 July 1976.

What happens if a plane flies too high?

Aerodynamic altitude: If a commercial airliner flies too high, it will encounter less dense air passing over the wings to create lift. This can cause the plane to stall and fall out of control. Depending on the weather conditions and aircraft weight, this can occur anywhere between 40,000 and 45,000 feet.

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.

How high can military planes fly?

Notably, the highest possible altitude for a military unit is not publicly shared for security reasons. Nonetheless, most fighter jets fly at an altitude between 45,000 and 51,000 feet. Some types, such as the F-22 Raptor, can reach as high as 65,000 feet due to the capability to rise vertically.

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Why do planes do not fly over the Pacific?

Because of its vast size, crossing the Pacific Ocean requires a staggering quantity of fuel. However, most commercial aircraft do not fly directly over the Pacific Ocean; instead, they choose what are known as 'curved paths'. These paths offers a faster, more efficient route given the curved nature of the earth.

Can a plane be too heavy to land?

While not as common an occurrence as overbooking, it does happen. Various factors (including air temperature, elevation, runway length and slope, and obstacles near the runway) can limit how much weight an airplane can safely carry.

How cold is it at 40000 feet?

After all, commercial airplanes can cruise at an altitude of nearly 40,000 feet, where temperatures hover around -70 degrees Fahrenheit.

How cold is it at 20,000 feet?

So, while your standard temperature at msl is 15° C or 59° F, your standard temperature at 20,000 feet msl will be -24.6°C or -12.3°F. Temperature and pressure changes can greatly affect your plane and its performance.

At what altitude does turbulence stop?

So what's the best altitude to minimize your exposure to moderate or greater turbulence? Well, considering both in-cloud and out-of-cloud turbulence, flight between 8,000 and 12,000 feet will allow for the smoothest ride, on average.”

Can a plane accidentally fly into space?

Most Airplanes Need Air To Fly

Additionally, the jet engines of airplanes actually work by sucking air through them. All of this means that for almost all airplanes, space flight is impossible. You just can't take the air out of airplanes!

Can a plane stop in the air?

Can an airplane stay up in the air without moving forward just like helicopter? A: Techincally, there is only one way for the aircraft to remain hanging motionless in the air: if weight and lift cancel each other out perfectly, and at the same time thrust and drag cancel each other out too. But this is incredibly rare.

What do pilots see when flying?

Whether flying at night or during the day, pilots need to see some kind of horizon. They use this to determine the airplane's attitude. At night pilots will turn their gaze from outside to inside and use the artificial horizon. The artificial horizon is normally a simply globe split into two hemispheres.

What happens if a plane window breaks?

In brief, it's all to do with air pressure in the cabin. Without compressed air, passengers would be unable to breathe due to a lack of oxygen at over 10,000ft. When a window breaks, the seal holding this compressed air inside it breaks, and it rushes out to equalise conditions inside the cabin with those outside.

Do planes fly over Mt 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 too cold for human life?

Hypothermia is a condition brought on when the body temperature drops to less than 95°F. It can kill. For those who survive, there are likely to be lasting kidney, liver and pancreas problems.

What's the hottest place on earth?

Death Valley holds the record for the highest air temperature on the planet: On 10 July 1913, temperatures at the aptly named Furnace Creek area in the California desert reached a blistering 56.7°C (134.1°F). Average summer temperatures, meanwhile, often rise above 45°C (113°F).

What is the highest temperature outside a human can survive?

It is commonly held that the maximum temperature at which humans can survive is 108.14-degree Fahrenheit or 42.3-degree Celsius.

How cold is 1000 feet in the air?

You will lose an average 3.5 degrees Fahrenheit for every 1000 feet of elevation you gain. You can also use about 1.2 degrees Celsius per ever 1000 feet, or about 1 degree Celsius per 100 meters (source, NFW who showed me my typo on the metric conversion in the comments).

Can you breathe at 60000 feet?

Even with this positive pressure breathing level, oxygen saturation will be about 60%, with the partial pressure of oxygen at about 35 mm Hg while at 60 000 feet. This level is very marginal and will keep the pilot conscious just long enough to descend to a lower altitude.

How cold is the ocean at 1000 feet deep?

The Answer:

The thermocline varies in thickness from about 1,000 feet to 3,000 feet. Below this point water cools more slowly. At areas like the Mariana Trench (or the Marianas Trench; both spellings are commonly found) the water temperature ranges from 34-39 degrees F (1-4 degrees C).

Why do pilots dump fuel before landing?

The reason to dump fuel is simple: to drop weight. Any given aircraft has a Maximum Landing Weight (MLW) at which it can land, and in most cases that weight is lower than its Maximum Takeoff Weight (MTOW).

Do planes empty fuel before landing?

Some airplanes – usually larger ones – have the capability to dump fuel to reduce the landing weight. Dumping fuel can reduce the weight quickly, dumping thousands of pounds in a few minutes. In the rare instances where dumping fuel becomes necessary, there are procedures that are supposed to be followed.

Do planes always dump fuel before landing?

A pilot will choose to dump fuel only on very rare occasions. In the case of an emergency situation the flight crew can decide to dump, dirty up the plane or land heavy. The dumped fuel evaporates before it hits the ground.