what height do we fly at?

[bluebird121]

:O hi there. i wonder if anyone can answer this question.i am flying to stanstead airport from glasgow next month and would like to know what is the maximum height we can fly at. i thought it may be 30,000 feet but is it dependant on the weather conditions. thanks again.:O :ok:

[BOAC]

Unlikely to be much above 37000ft although the aircraft on that route could fly up to 40/41. For jet, anywhere between 25 and 37 I would guess.

Depends on ATC clearance, crew's request, aircraft type and serviceability to name but a few and, as you say, weather.

[we_never_change]

hmmm, one question, wheres Stanstead?

WNC

[ManofMan]

WNC,
Repeat after me..

Must get a life rather than pick on peoples spelling:O :O :O

[bluebird121]

:O to keep wnc happy i have told him i will write STANSTED out twenty times...cheers:ok:

[Oshkosh George]

Always wondered about the spelling.

If you do a google search for Stansted/Stanstead Mountfitchet,the village from which the airport takes it's name,you'll find an equal amount of references to BOTH spellings.

Any locals wish to comment?(sorry about the thread hijack!)

[McFunkletrumpet]

Has anyone else sussed that a reply to this question could supply a "terrorist" with vital information to set a barometric device to explode a bomb, loaded in the hold of an aircraft on a given flight ,on a given day?
I know it's a bit over the top but it goes to show how an innocent question and reply could have serious repercusions.
Right, I feel better for writing that. It has bothered me all day.

Mc F

[Oshkosh George]

If a terrorist did not have that information,do you not think he would set it at say 4000 ft,and make sure of it?

A bit OTT,I would say!

[bluebird121]

i take your point and understand where you are coming from but the answer was that the plane flies at different heights dependant on various factors so it would need to be a very clever"terrorist" to be able to decide exactly what height he/she could set off a potential device and i think most people who fly have a rough idea of the maximum heights which they fly at so that is no secret either:ok: thanks for putting a different perspective on this topic as it never even occurred to me.:ok:

[BOAC]

McF - I recommend some sedatives:D

Whilst we are careful not to divulge useful information for the bad guys on Pprune, OG and Bb121 have it right.

[TenAndie]

I very much doubt that you will be flying at 37,000 from Glasgow to Stansted.

At MYT we do a positioning sector from Bristol to Leeds in the A320 and this generally flies at around 16-20,000 feet. Would guess you will be flying at around 27,000 tops.

[BOAC]

10A - why not check your FMC next time for STN-GLA and see what 'econ' is? 350 is not uncommon for LHR/LGW services.

PS When did Leeds move that far north?:D

[The Greaser]

we regularly do gla/edi - ltn at 370/390

[TenAndie]

Well i was just speaking for the BRI - LBA sector. The highest we have ever flown the sector was Wednesday at 20,000 ft. Its usually flown at around FL180.

FL390 seems a little high for a 630 km ish trip.

[RUDAS]

Now i've heard it all!!!

When i picked myself up off the floor after the bout of laughter,i realised what sad,skeptical,paranoid people there are about,and it's actually scaring me.:mad:

If a terrorist has the ability to make a "barometric trigger device",do you really think he would have no clue what height an airliner flies at? Astounding!

Secondly,as a pilot,you seldom are guaranteed to get your requested Flight Level,so that info is of no use as there is no way to predict what LVL a flight will be given.Please,don't try to look for "terrorists"behind every innocent and often valid question-its really so annoying and quite narrow-minded.Have a bit of faith in the established security procedures at airports to root them out.

[witchdoctor]

I've got terrorists living at the bottom of my garden you know. They've been frightening the Leprechauns and doing bad things to the fairies.:eek:

[amanoffewwords]

When i picked myself up off the floor after the bout of laughter
Funny, that's happened to me too :p

If pprune was divulging sensitive information to the terrorist the site would have been closed down a long time ago and Danny would be in Guantanamo.

I was going to ask if I misheard a pilot once telling us over the PA that we were flying at 50000feet (in 747) but I guess that's hush hush info.

[bluebird121]

:) hi there. i never realised there could be so many different aspects of this topic. i only asked out of curiosity as i have flown to stansted(WMC please note i spelt it correctly:rolleyes: ) a few times now and we never seemed to fly that high up.thanks for all the different anwers though..very enlightening:ok:

[PPRuNe Radar]

Seen a few Ryanairs operating SS to PK at FL400. Suppose they need all that height to ensure they can do 320Kts to the Inner Marker at idle thrust ;)

[ManofMan]

PPPrune Radar,
I am slightly concerned about the information divulged in you last post. Lets say If and i mean If the terrorist were looking to make a bomb that exploded when the combination of height, speed and level of thrust at the Inner marker was used as the detonation then you might have just given them the information they were after.

;) ;)

[LatviaCalling]

And don't forget that altitude is even going toward the west and odd going toward the east separated by 2,000 feet (if I remember correctly) and also flight numbers. Now what about north to south or vice versa?

[chiglet]

And also....
Cabin alt is set at FLxx [can't say 'cos it's secret] so the bererrm
[bad Peter Sellers inp] won't go off :ok: Unless it's in t'hold :{
watp,iktch

[bluebird121]

:confused: hi there ..having read the latest threads i am now totally confused. it is just too technical for me.:ok: thanks anyway..:ok:

[Oshkosh George]

Believe separation is now reduced to 1000 ft in Europe.
Also there are ONLY East and West segments,000 degrees to 179 degrees,and 180 degrees to 359 degrees. Cannot remember which is odds,or evens however.Nit picking,but its Flight Levels(altimeter set to 1013) ,not altitude(above sea level,and set to RPS (regional pressure setting))

[chiglet]

Oshkosh G,
Standard separation is 1000'. Above FL290, it is 2000'...unless you have RVSM [Reduced Vertical Separation Minina] when it's 1000'
hope this helps
watp,iktch