Originally Posted by
FE Hoppy
You need a performance course mate.
I think
you're the one who needs a performance course mate.
This is a quote from someone who does fly the 777 from the
Aviation Herald website.
Altitude of 45,000 ft
By S Eldin on Saturday, Mar 15th 2014 04:46Z
I have serious doubts about the claim of the aircraft climbing up to 45,000 ft.
Being familiar with the type, at the 230-240 tons that the aircraft weighed one hour into flight the performance limited altitude would have been between 38,000 and 39,000 ft, increasing about 10,000 ft for every 10 tons of fuel burned.
Normal takeoff fuel would have been in the range of 44-47 tons.
To climb significantly above these altitudes is not possible because the engines would not be able to develop the required thrust and the wing would not have been able to generate the required lift, both of which reduce with increased altitude.
To be able to climb to 45,000 ft (which is 2,000 ft above the certified ceiling of this 777) the weight would have to be reduced to approx. 165 tons; in other words the weight of the aircraft, payload and virtually no fuel .