At what altitudes do planes fly: a detailed briefing

2024 Author: Harold Hamphrey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:06

“Airplanes live only in flights” - do you remember these words from the famous song by Yuri Antonov? Life is in the air, and on earth, and underground, and under water. So at what altitudes do planes fly?

Further, higher, faster

During the arms race, this motto was used in the domestic aircraft industry. And it should be noted that with great success. For example, such an exhibit, which few people remember as the Su-100, was designed as a strategic bomber, but could evade the pursuit of any fighter that existed at that time and for a long time after. Unfortunately, due to bureaucratic delays, he remained a prototype.

For military aircraft, high speed and flight altitude are fundamental, since there is a need to remain difficult to reach for ground air defense units. At what altitudes do aircraft in this category fly?

Flight altitude

The maximum flight altitude, or ceiling, for each type of aircraft is calculated and laid down based on its purpose. If it's a fighterits flight altitude should be as high as possible. After all, he will have to "get" the enemy, who may try to get away from the chase, gaining height. Some developed aircraft have a practical ceiling of up to 40 kilometers above sea level, although such heights are impractical. Most modern fighters are designed for use at altitudes up to 20-22 kilometers.

Transport and passenger airliners

These aircraft have a different scope, so the requirements for altitude and speed of their flight are different. There were single developments of passenger airliners using supersonic speeds (such as the Concorde), but they were abandoned due to the impracticality of their use in this area. However, the flight speed of jet transport and passenger aircraft is quite impressive.

For example, the well-known military transport aircraft Il-76 has a cruising speed of 750-800 km/h. This means that the maximum speed is very close to supersonic. And the practical ceiling reaches 12,000 meters above sea level. The estimated height for this type of aircraft is 8-9 km. Most modern large aircraft designed to carry goods and passengers over long distances have similar or close flight characteristics.

However, the usual system for measuring speed for aircraft flying at high altitudes will not always be informative enough. The speed of an aircraft at altitude is often measured by the "M" number, which corresponds to the speed of sound. For a high flight altitude, this indicator hasgreat value, because at high altitude the air density decreases, which means that the speed of sound, expressed in km / h or m / s, also decreases. Therefore, at the same speed, expressed in kilometers per hour, with a change in altitude, the speed expressed in the number "M" will change. For an ordinary person, this seems unprincipled. But to overcome the speed of sound, a significant increase in structural strength, and hence the mass of the aircraft, as well as specific wing shapes will be required.

For example. An airplane flying near the surface of the earth at the speed of sound will cover a distance of approximately 1220 kilometers in one hour. An airplane at an altitude of 10 km, flying at the speed of sound, will cover only 1076 kilometers in an hour. Purely for practical reasons, it would not make sense to accelerate a non-military aircraft to the speed of sound and significantly increase its flight altitude.

Local airlines and other aircraft applications

This area of aviation is significantly different from those discussed above. The flight range of aircraft flying on local airlines is measured in several hundred kilometers. Most often, such aircraft are equipped with propeller engines, which have significantly lower fuel consumption per kilometer.

At what altitudes the planes we are talking about now fly depends on their purpose. In any case, here we are not talking about tens of kilometers and often not even about kilometers. For this category, low echelons are provided. Usually this is an altitude of 600, 900, 1200 meters for local airlines. Aircraft used in agriculture forcultivation of lands rarely rise above several hundred meters, and the direct execution of tasks occurs from a height of several tens of meters. Such flight altitudes are common in aircraft used to fight fires.

If you do not have serious problems with the vestibular apparatus, you will enjoy flying. And while flying the aircraft, you will get an incomparable experience. And it doesn't matter at what altitudes the planes fly. You will feel great.