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Is there a maximum height a propeller airplane could fly?

Some lower bounds for maximum flying altitude:

• 12,000 m: Antonow An-70, produced 1994
• 12,310 m: Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules, delivered in 2012
• 12,500 m: Piaggio P.180 Avanti, production started in 1986
• 29,523 m: NASA Helios HP01, record altitude reached in 2001

Just for comparison: Low earth orbit is about 160,000m.

Upper bounds: I don't know. I guess at some point there is not enough air to get lifted. And nobody build an airplane with solar cells that flies to space.

I guess important factors for such an upper bound are:

• Weight of the airplane,
• Size, shape and speed of the propellers
• Speed of the propellers

Is there a maximum height a propeller airplane could fly?

Some lower bounds for maximum flying altitude:

• 12,000m (39,370ft): Antonow An-70, produced 1994
• 12,310m (40,387ft): Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules, delivered in 2012
• 12,500m (41,010ft): Piaggio P.180 Avanti, production started in 1986
• 29,523m (96,860ft): NASA Helios HP01, record altitude reached in 2001

Just for comparison: Low earth orbit is about 160,000m.

Upper bounds: I don't know. I guess at some point there is not enough air to get lifted. And nobody build an airplane with solar cells that flies to space.

I guess important factors for such an upper bound are:

• Weight of the airplane,
• Size, shape and speed of the propellers
• Speed of the propellers