That bloody transition layer.
FTDK
I once had a V tail Bonanza (TYA) up to FL 180. Sure it took a long time to get there but i had a long leg to fly way out back. (yes of course I had oxygen). That aeroplane was probably a bit lighter than yours,and it was new. I almost lived in it for a couple of years.
Many years later I was involved in flying food from Alice Springs to Balgo, in WA in C 206's and we often went high coming home to get tailwainds, and to get out of thermal turbulence and over developing Cumulus, which often developed into CB's. That No-go zone, called the transition layer was a nuisance, denying us valuable cruising levels in cooler, smoother air.
Later I got to operate turbocharged aeroplanes in central Australia for about 8,000 hours, and cursed the transition layer, and the 10,000ft oxygen requirement which made it mandatory for me to bounce around in the turbulance in aeroplanes that just begged to go higher. The transition layer should be at about 18000 ft, and the oxygen level should be at 12000ft, the same as the rest of the world. (do we have substandard lungs? Is that why the All Blacks keep beating us?)
If we fix these two things we might see photos of aircraft cruising at 11000 and 12000 feet, where they should be. Turbo charged aircraft are now effectively limited to 8500 feet. Stupid.
The people who make the rules live on the coast, and don't seem to know about the thermal turrbulance in central Australia. Wish I could send them a photo of it.
Bet I get a lecture on Oxygen use now.
Last edited by bushy; 19th Nov 2008 at 07:37.
Reason: To avoid offending the spelling police.