Questions tagged [cruise]

The section of flight between the after takeoff climb and landing approach.

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4 answers
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Why are many jet aircraft designed to cruise around FL350-370?

If the flight distance permits, the B737-800 will cruise at FL350, the A320 a little bit higher... Flying at FL370. Photo: Live from the Flight Deck by GolfCharlie232 (reframed) Elements such as ...
mins's user avatar
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How can you find the best altitude for range or speed?

How can you select best cruise altitude (altitude for best range velocity) and maximum speed altitude? The specific case is a turboprop aircraft of gross weight 8000 lb.
glassgeek's user avatar
33 votes
7 answers
19k views

Why do airliners pitch up during cruise?

In my experience as a passenger, when the plane stands at the airport and you enter it, the aisle is pretty much horizontal. (Obviously, I've never flown on a DC-3). After takeoff we pitch sharply ...
hmakholm left over Monica's user avatar
24 votes
4 answers
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Why are heavy flaps better than just a bigger wing?

Flaps increase lift during landing and T/O. But when retracted, they do nothing. The space needed to stow the common fowler flaps can't be used for anything else - fuel or structure. Extended flaps ...
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35 votes
3 answers
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When might a pilot hand-fly a jet at cruise altitudes, and is it difficult?

How difficult is it to hand-fly a jet at cruise altitudes? Other than autopilot failure and just doing it for the fun of it, when might you want to hand-fly at those altitudes? I suspect the answer ...
Terry's user avatar
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11 votes
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What is the wing angle of attack of a Boeing 737 in cruise?

I would like to know the angle of attack that a 737 flies at during cruise. I am specifically interested in the wing angle of attack (if you know the cruise nose-up attitude and the wing incidence ...
Flanker's user avatar
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10 votes
2 answers
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Will control surfaces on a plane be less efficient at a higher altitude?

I may be wrong but I learned that control surfaces depends on the air flow to work properly, and that airliners have a higher cruise altitude because of the less dense atmosphere, improving the fuel ...
Gabriel Brito's user avatar
7 votes
2 answers
14k views

What throttle setting does an airliner use while cruising?

As a passenger, I have always felt like the engine are not kept at take-off thrust/full throttle a few (tens of) seconds after take-off, and so for obvious reasons as fuel efficiency, engine wear ...
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1 answer
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What would happen if thrust reversal is accidentally deployed during a flight? [duplicate]

Is it possible to deploy the thrust reversal, in the cruise phase of a flight? And, if they are accidentally deployed, what could be the possible consequences? As the cruise phase requires a lot of ...
anshabhi's user avatar
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30 votes
6 answers
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Why cruise at 7000' in an A319?

I was on a flight from Philadelphia (KPHL) to Boston (KBOS), after some delay and some change of route due to weather, the captain announced that we will be cruising at 7000' due to delays in the area....
Brice's user avatar
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20 votes
3 answers
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Why do pilots announce the cruising altitude of a flight?

At some early stage in the flight, why will commercial pilots announce the cruising altitude of the flight?
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3 answers
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How do pilots decide what their cruising altitude will be?

When filing a flight-plan for a long-haul high-altitude IFR flight, how do pilots select a specific cruising altitude? Typically in the range of 25,000 - 35,000 ft.
Danny Beckett's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
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Based on this fuel flow chart, why isn't it more optimum to remain at an intermediate altitude rather than climbing?

I am having a bit of confusing as to why people say planes gets more efficient as they fly higher. Because on a typical long haul flight the Fuel Flow of the aircraft will obviously be much more that ...
Joe Wie's user avatar
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5 votes
4 answers
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During which part of the flight the effect of air resistance is more important?

Her teacher asked this question to my niece (8 years old)? However I couldn't find a solid answer either. In which part of the flight, the effect of the air resistance (drag) is more important? ...
Nuri Tasdemir's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
1k views

Does the Enroute Phase begin at a 30NM distance from the departure airport?

ICAO's Doc 8168 Volume II ("Aircraft Operations") states: Part III "Performance-Based Navigation Procedures" Section 1 "Underlying Principles" Chapter 1 "RNAV ...
Vector Zita's user avatar
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2 votes
2 answers
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What is the Fuel-Oxygen ratio for a large turbofan at cruise conditions?

What is the Fuel-Oxygen ratio (by mass) for a large turbofan at cruise conditions? In order to be concrete, I'll just pick an engine at random. I pick the GE90-115B. Okay it's not really random, it'...
DrZ214's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
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Why is the thrust-specific fuel consumption much worse for high bypass turbofans at cruise?

General Electric GE90 Takeoff: 0.278 lb/lbf/h (28.3 kg/kN/h) Cruise: 0.545 lb/lbf/h (55.6 kg/kN/h) Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Electric_GE90#Specifications I assume this is typical ...
Abdullah's user avatar
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1 vote
3 answers
791 views

How long is a climb leg in a step-climb cruise flight segment allowed to take, according to regulations (FAA/EASA)?

I am working on a trajectory optimisation program for commercial, large aircraft, in which I want to incorporate realistic air traffic control regulations. One of the constraints I want to incorporate ...
Sam's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
983 views

What VFR cruising altitude should be flown to the west below 4500 feet?

This is similar question to this question, but different scenario. Let me describe the situation: I am at KDYL in class G airspace. Accroding to ATIS the clouds are at 4700 scattered. I am going to ...
Igor Levashov's user avatar