Why do planes fly at 40000?


Why do planes fly at 40000? Planes cruise at 40,000 feet because it is the optimal altitude for fuel efficiency. At this height, planes can take advantage of strong winds and jet streams to reduce drag and save fuel.


Is there turbulence at 35000 feet?

Turbulence can occur anywhere in the atmosphere, from ground level to near the upper limits of standard high-level en route charts, typically above Flight Level (FL) 350 (approximately 35,000 ft).


Why do planes fly at 43000 feet?

Commercial planes fly between 35,000 and 43,000 feet. This is usually the most optimal flight to create lift. Aircraft are generally around 7 miles above the ground traveling at nearly the speed of sound. The higher a plane flies, the thinner air surrounding it becomes.


Can planes fly at 40 000 feet?

Therefore, routes are often broken up using smaller aircraft along the way. Altogether, commercial airliners have the physical capability to travel up to 43,000 feet.


How high can you fly without oxygen?

For Part 91 General Aviation operations the required flight crew must use supplemental oxygen for any portion of the flight that exceeds 30 minutes above a cabin pressure altitude of 12,500 feet mean sea level (MSL) up to and including 14,000 feet (MSL).


Can you fly at 100000 feet?

A series of Navy and Air Force programs in the 1950s and 1960s used pressure vessels or pressure suits to get balloonists higher, some to above 100,000 feet. Skydiver Nicholas Piantanida set an unofficial record—123,500 feet—in 1966, but a later attempt went awry when his helmet depressurized.


Why do planes fly at 40000 feet?

Planes are *optimized* to fly at certain heights to maximize the efficiency of their engines and their fuel consumption. So jet planes can fly a lot higher than propeller planes, so they do. They fly between 20,000 feet and 40,000 feet because they are designed and optimized to do just that.


What can fly at 80000 feet?

Can you fly at 80000 feet? The US Air Force U-2 reconnaissance aircraft flies at 72 000 feet almost every day for many hours. The world's fastest manned aircraft, the SR-71, flew for many years at 80 000 feet and higher.


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.


Why do private jets fly at 45000 feet?

All the reasons private jets fly at a higher altitude are for increased safety and to reach their destinations faster.


Do planes fly over Everest?

Most scheduled airlines avoid taking fly routes over Mount Everest. Jet aircraft fly at an altitude from 35000 to 40000 feet; the height of Mt. Everest is inside the jet plane's cruising altitude. To ensure a safe distance above the Himalayas, the pilots are required to fly into the lower portion of the stratosphere.


Can a plane fly at 60000 feet?

There are no specific regulations governing civil aircraft operations beyond the altitude of 60,000 feet. Nevertheless, certain exceptional aircraft like the Concorde and the Tupolev Tu-144 have managed to ascend to altitudes of FL600 (equivalent to 60,000 feet).


Can turbulence bring down a plane?

Severe turbulence can cause a plane to drop so suddenly that pilots temporarily lose control. But, again, that's not enough to crash the plane. That's not to say it's never happened. In 1966, human error and turbulence combined to bring a plane down over Mount Fuji.


Why do planes drop suddenly?

When an aircraft experiences turbulence, the plane can drop or change altitude suddenly. This is why pilots always caution passengers to buckle up and stay seated when they are experiencing flight turbulence. The sudden movements put passengers at risk.