Thank you patternisfull! Wonderful insights.
I like the BE1900 rule.The rule of thumb for jets perhaps has a distance demarcation to differentiate short from longhaul? Lke 400nm perhaps?
I have also come across something am sure deficiently simplistic..where the reasoning being for short haul spend 1/3 of the distance climbing, oe third cruise and the remaining third descending.working backward descent profile from 1/3 remaining distance reckons the cruise alt..If you can expand on this mathematically with required corrections for wind components and weight you might get a more intelligent solution.
Ditched ..hat sounds about right as the 1/3 formula leads to the same result...ofcourse wih weight and altitude capability limiting the final altitude on ultralonghauls.
Last edited by Trackdiamond; 1st Feb 2014 at 19:03.