TAS Reduction above crossover altitude
Hi all,
Just been doing some research for an ATPL uni assignment and trying to get my head around the rate of TAS reduction once the crossover altitude has been reached/exceeded.
I understand that climbing up to the crossover altitude is conducted with a constant CAS (and increasing TAS) until reaching the crossover altitude, whereby constant Mach is used (therefore decreasing TAS).
However, above this crossover altitude does TAS reduce at the same rate as below the crossover altitude (if that made any sense). Also, if an aircraft reaches its cruise flight level where the TAS is lower, could the operator simply not cruise at the crossover altitude. The only issue I could think for doing this however is the proximity of other aircraft also cruising at the crossover altitude to achieve the highest TAS.
Any help would be most appreciated!