How high can normal airplanes fly?

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.

How tall does a plane have to be to fly at high speed?

“Ten thousand feet and above, you can go legally to a much higher speed,” says Dr. Thomas Carney, Professor of Aviation and Transportation Technology at Purdue University. This also explains why you feel the plane slowing down during landing. Why don’t small private planes or helicopters fly at the same height?

What’s the average altitude of a commercial plane?

How high can a commercial jet aircraft go?

For example the new generation Boeing 737 is certified to 41,000ft (7.8 miles). Many military jet aircraft are able to fly considerably higher. Often, the plane itself is not pressurised and instead the pilot wears a pressure suit that provides him with a pressurised environment.

How tall can a NASA plane go in space?

One special NASA plane, Helios, flew to about 19 miles. This is far higher than any other plane has gone. At that height, the air is about 100 times thinner than at sea level. The air gets thinner the higher you go.

Why does an airplane need to fly so high?

There are very good reasons why planes fly so high in the sky. Air resistance and fuel efficiency . One of the main reasons commercial airplanes fly so high is air resistance. You see, the higher you go above the ground, the thinner the atmosphere becomes, and therefore, the less resistance there is on the flight of the plane.

How high above the earth do airplanes usually fly?

Commercial airplanes typically fly between 32,000 feet and 38,000 feet , with the sweet spot being approximately 35,000 feet, which is popularly referred to as cruising altitude. A balance between operating costs and fuel efficiency is achieved somewhere around 35,000 feet, which is why commercial airplanes usually fly at that altitude.

What airplane can fly the highest?

But some jets fly higher than others. An aircraft’s maximum altitude is called its service ceiling, and the Global 6000, the Falcon 5X and the Gulfstream G650 all currently fly the highest with a service ceiling of 51,000 feet.

What limits how high a plane can fly?

For private planes, the limit to its height can be around 14,000 feet above sea level. For bigger planes with turbo charged engines, they may be able to fly 60,000 feet above sea level.