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### Is the climb rate different for short-haul flight and long-haul flight?

A short-haul flight does not spend much time in its cruise level (let's say less than two hours). Thus, it is important to rapidly reach the optimal flight level and I think this kind of aircraft ...
1k views

### Are there any aircraft designed to operate between an altitude of 50-80km?

Aircrafts operating at high altitude falls into several categories: Wings with high aspect ratio (Global Hawk, TR-1, Scaled Composite Proteus,...) High velocity aircraft (Concorde, A-12, X-51,...) ...
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### What are the limiting factors when flying a model UAV plane to high altitude?

Setting aside the likely legal factors for a moment, what are the limiting factors when flying a model plane to high altitude? As I see it these could be: Battery power consumption - Model planes ...
1k views

### I'm thinking of building a balloon-launched glider, is this idea plausible?

So, I know nothing about aviation. I'm a student studying maths and computing and I feel like building a high altitude glider controlled by a Raspberry Pi and Arduino as a personal project. First ...
810 views

### What should be the minimum time spent in cruise (for e.g. a B737)?

Having a short sector to fly, it would not be convenient to climb all the way up to the best cruise altitude, since the time in climb would burn more fuel than that necessary for a flight at lower ...
885 views

### How could a PA-28 be made to fly higher?

How would I have to modify the Piper PA-28 to fly at 25,000 feet (same as PA-34 and PA-46)? Could it fly higher? Larger wings, other wingform, bigger motor something else? Do you have to change the ...
471 views

### May planes be flown above the maximum certified altitude?

Let's take the 737NG as an example. The 737NG has a maximum certified altitude (MCA) of FL410. However, looking at the MCP, the maximum altitude that can be set is 50,000ft. And the pressurization ...
273 views

### What happens in an F-16 once the aircraft exeeds its service ceiling?

What exactly is the sequence of events that would unfold as an F-16 attempts to exceed its service ceiling? The scenario is simply full afterburner and attempting to simply climb higher and higher (at ...
199 views

### What does account for a high coffin corner of a plane?

The Coffin corner is the altitude at which a plane's stall speed is close to Mach 1, the speed of sound (but still below, at the critical Mach number). What accounts for a coffin corner at higher ...
This question What determines the maximum altitude a plane can reach? has a formula at Peter Kämpf's answer : $$\rho_{min} = \frac{2\cdot m\cdot g}{(Mach^2 \cdot c_L)_{max}\cdot a^2\cdot S}$$ Does ...