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### What happens if an aircraft goes above maximum altitude? [duplicate]

We all know what happens when a plane goes overspeed... but what happens when a plane goes above their max. altitude? And why are planes certified maximum altitudes anyway? Is it because there won't ...
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### 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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### 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 ...
664 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 ...
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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 ...
710 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 ...
354 views

### Is it the engines or the fuselage that limits service ceiling? [duplicate]

Reading this article about the Northrop Grumman E8 it says the the aircraft will be able to fly higher after engine upgrades. Wouldn't the max service ceiling be limited by the fuselage design too?
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### Can planes go to space? [duplicate]

What are the reasons why planes can't go into space? https://thehumble.co.uk/aircraft-with-forward-swept-wings/
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### What is the background of the maximum altitude formula?

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 ...
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### 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 ...
483 views

### Calculating the maximum altitude of a drone [duplicate]

Is there an equation to find the maximum altitude that a drone or quadcopter can fly to ?
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### Can a commercial aircraft theoretically reach 60,000ft? [duplicate]

As per this question: Altitudes above 60,000 feet are class E airspace. That means that, if you are lucky enough to have an aircraft that flies that high, once you get there you could theoretically ...
223 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 ...