How high have you flown?

[juswonnafly]

Just been reading Whirly's thread on 'interesting stuff' and noted a few comments about height............so........how high do you fly/or have flown?

I ask this because I notice that most people stay below 3000 feet.

Me?..........13000 ft in a Robin 2160

23000 ft in a balloon

Each time I felt fine until I 'thought' about it.........then suddenly it felt a LONG WAY DOWN.

It's almost as if the higher you fly the more flimsy and less safe the aircraft feels..........strictly irrational I know, but there you have it :)

JWF :D

[BEagle]

Flight Level 520 in a Vulcan.


I prefer 1500 ft a.g.l in a Spamcan though, the view is better! Although I did once get a Chipmunk up to 14000 ft.

[Sensible]

13,850 in a glider - not the ceiling but it was getting cold!!!

[Timothy]

There are great benefits to be had by flying relatively higher:

1) Specific fuel burn (ie mpg) is improved (if you use the mixture control properly)
2) TAS is a little improved
3) You can take advantage of higher winds aloft
4) You don't have to mess with all the ATZs, MATZs, CTRs etc
5) Radar cover is better
6) Radio range is better
7) More time to think about an emergency
8) Greater gliding range after an SEP engine failure

In some ways the view is also better, but that's a matter of personal taste :)

I normally fly between F90 and F105 (depending upon airspace and track) but am happy to go up to F130 for 30 mins to avoid mountains.

Beware if you or any of your pax smokes or has asthma, as they can get a bit breathless at altitude, esp if they do anything physical (like move a flight bag around.)

W

[slim_slag]

as they can get a bit breathless at altitude, esp if they do anything physical (like move a flight bag around.)

I've been at FL190 without supplemental oxygen, up there the effort of breathing makes you breathless.

Still not as much fun as 50ft AGL :D

[ShyTorque]

FL420 in a JP was about my limit, you can just about see the curvature of the earth.

Prefer 50-100ft though, a lot more demanding and exciting.

[A and C]

I,ve taken a Robin DR400 up to FL165 the aircraft was happy to go further but I was getting to cold as the cabin heat was not working very well at that altitude , and before you ask I did have Oxygen with me.

[High Wing Drifter]

I've been at FL190 without supplemental oxygen, up there the effort of breathing makes you breathless.
10,000ft is the safe limit is it not? Isn't one of the dangerous things about hypoxia that it is difficult to know that you are suffering from it, by which time it is usually too late?

FL190 without oxy sounds very dangerous too me!

[AerBabe]

Only about 4500ft. It was at the end of a lesson, and I wanted to see the sea. :o

[Tiger_ Moth]

I've been up to an incredible 4000ft or so. I've always thought it would be great to fly really high just for the fun of it and as soon as I get my license I'm going to just climb and climb and climb, round and round in circles, preferably on a day with great visibility up to at least 10,000ft. And one day, when I can do aeros on my own I'm going to do this and then spin it down 6000ft.

[SteveQB]

Does 58,500 ft in Concorde count?:D

As you may have guessed I wasn't driving, but you could see the curvature of the earth and I will never forget it.

Cheers

Steve

[What a Loop]

9800ft over the mountians in Arizona. mind you even then there were some mountians in the distance that were higher :eek: :eek:

In the end decided that was high enough and turned back. Don't know about radio coverage Generally I would agree but over the mountians it was very patchy


WAL

[weetabix]

I got up to 10,500 in a PA28 161 from Kern Valley to Long Beach over the Mojave Desert, for about 20minutes.

Didn't feel any different but had taken a photo of myself during that leg of the flight and look really tired, compared to other photos of me that day. It was a lot less hot up there too!

I think it's a bit amusing to try and fan yourself with your hand at altitude.. it's a wierd sensation because the thinner air means you can barely feel the draft on your face!:cool:

Weet

[Shaggy Sheep Driver]

usually I fly quite low (around 1000 feet) becuase the view is better, but do my aeros at 4000 minimum. I haven't managed 14000 feet in the Chippy, but have had it to over 12000. Must have another go!

My record is just over 60,000 feet on the jumpseat of BA Concorde G-BOAD. Great view - much better than through those tiny portholes back in the cabin, but only to be enjoyed by aircrew now I guess since 11/9.

SSD

[Chimbu chuckles]

C185-FL165 nil O2
BN2-FL170 nil O2
Queenair FL220 Flew into a CB in the dark and that's where I got spat out...I was at FL140 on O2 to begin with:(
C402-FL230 with O2 , The magnetos were arcing so much the engines were barely running...and it was cold!
DHC6-FL250 with O2
DHC7-FL230 Not a lot of get up and go in the tropics but a fun aeroplane none the less.
DA200-FL410 I love Falcons....A LOT.
C560- FL450 I dislike Citations...A LOT.

The view from altitude is often crap, but I've been blessed with a couple of days when, restricted by SL cabin requirements, I've flown the whole length of Vietnam at FL230 in severe clear...ditto Laos...beautiful Countries. Flown North from Nha Trang to Qang Tri below 5000 just for fun in a Falcon, and flown over, with permission, Ankor Watt at <500' too.

But by far the most fun and my greatest aviation achievement?

Flying the entire PNG coastline (including Islands) at low level, but not saying how low;)...and that took nearly 8 years doing it a bit at a time on empty sectors:D

Chuckles.

[stillin1]

67,800' and all I really noticed was the guages telling me the left engine had flamed out

BU@@er!

[Kolibear]

About 60,000 ft I think, in Concorde.

Otherwise about 5,500ft in a C152. The problem isn't the going up, its the distance I have to fly horizontally to find somewhere we I can go up.

[AerBabe]

And in a C152 it would be having enough fuel to climb that far! ;)

[slim_slag]

FL190 without oxy sounds very dangerous too me!

Me Too! That's why I wasn't flying. We needed to be that high and wanted to conserve 02, and seeing as I lived at 7000ft we thought I'd be better acclimatised. I really put that in just to show how easy it is to become breathless up there, you would not have liked the colour of my nails :D We were safe.

10,000ft is the safe limit is it not?

10,000ft is arbitary, living at 7000 ft I used to take a mountain bike above that before going to work in the morning. FAA says 5000ft at night is a recommended limit, but the regs say you can go to 14k. If you want to fly around the Rockies you need to be in the 02 levels, and plenty of people safely do it without 02. They do live a lot higher than Ben Nevis of course.

There are treks in the himalayas which reach 5500m, and Kilimanjaro is higher than that. Anybody who has been up there will appreciate having spent the time acclimatising on the way up, and would probably be fine controlling a light aircraft. I wouldn't want to stay up there for long, you can feel yourself ebbing away.

Isn't one of the dangerous things about hypoxia that it is difficult to know that you are suffering from it, by which time it is usually too late?

Yes, but not sure if its too late.

The military folk will know about high altitude stuff. If you ever get the chance you should go into one of their high altitude chambers, it's interesting. They have one at a University in Phoenix which you can go in, costs over $100 now though, I think.

[javelin]

11,500 ft in an Aeronca Champ

43,000 ft in a Boeing 767

17,000 ft in a Cessna 207 ( I then jumped out )

4,500 ft in a hot air balloon ( then i jumped out )

3,000 ft in a Skyship 600 Airship ( then I jumped out ) (( twice ))

[T_richard]

As a reference only, the summit of Vail Mtn. in Colorado is 11,250 ft.
JAvelin why did you jump out of a plane at such alltitude?

[Ian_Wannabe]

9,500 feet in a 172 in California

Not as high as the most of you, but being above an airline looking down at it was amazing!

Hurt my ears when we came down though as I had a nasty blocked head, must remember to choose a more suitable decent rate :D

[411A]

Highest operating has been FL430 in a TriStar -500.

Normally operate my private aeroplane (turbo twin Cessna, unpressurized) at 14-16,000 feet in the USA, using supplemental oxygen ALWAYS above 10,000 feet.

Have had correspondence with a guy who regularly flies his Cessna 402 at FL270, using supplememtal oxygen.
Suggested to him that this might not be a good idea for a variety of reasons including... (for example)...sudden
thick electrical smoke from behind the instrument panel.

He does not have proper pressure breathing equipment (uses nasal cannula), no smoke goggles and if he needs to switch off the master switch to eliminate the smoke, no autopilot.

Personally think he is a prime canditate for the looney bin.

[slim_slag]

a guy who regularly flies his Cessna 402 at FL270, using supplememtal oxygen.....

He does not have proper pressure breathing equipment (uses nasal cannula..

Personally think he is a prime canditate for the looney bin.

Also, nasal cannulae are not legal above 18,000 MSL, the pilot needs to use a mask.

[Final 3 Greens]

11,000 ft Las Vegas to Brackett (LA Verne) Ca, in a PA31.

[LowNSlow]

Riding in the back of a Cessna twin at 12,000' for 3 hours gave this smoker a splitting head ache :( Glad I wasn't driving......

[silvereagle]

29,500' in a C130. Then I stepped off the tailgate, 1977, over Fox Covert DZ Salisbury Plain, and it was dark. Highest self flown? 17,500 in a Lynx AH1 (yes a Mk 1) over Bad Lippsringe, Germany. Both are remakable stories - got half an hour?

[englishal]

12,500' regularly in California without 02.....

FAA Regs state that above 12,500' for 30 mins the pilot must use supplemental o2, but you don't have to give your PAX any until 14,000' :D [when everyone must use it]. Its interesting flying at night at altitude, you vision gets a bit messed up, which is why the FAA recommend 5000' at night.

EA

[Final 3 Greens]

411a

Personally think he is a prime canditate for the looney bin.

As Dirty Harry said, "Do you feel lucky?" ;)

[Skylark4]

Silver Eagle.
I`ve got half an hour and would like to hear, (or read) your tale. Anyone who hasn`t/doesn`t can skip over it.

Mike W

[djpil]

At home in Australia its useful to get above 4000 ft or so on a cross-country in a small aeroplane to get smooth air. By the way, a Cessna 150 is good for catching a thermal in summer. When I had the Laser (single seat aerobatic 200 hp), up as high as I could get but below 10,000 gave good combination of range and TAS.

When I was living in the USA, home elevation was 6500 ft and I needed 11,000 ft to get out of the valley and go more than 20 miles so 11,000 or 12,000 ft was a typical cruise altitude. Needed to skip up to 14,000 for a short while to get over the Wind River Range to the East. That was in a Pitts or Husky. A real experience to be in a Pitts with no heater in winter there.

[slim_slag]

Surprisingly, englishal, there is nothing in the FAA regs which say passengers have to be on O2 at any altitude. You have to make it available to them at 15,000 but thats all it says.

Nothing wrong with putting on your O2 mask at 10,000 during the day or 5,000 at night (but I wonder whether airline pilots pump up the cabin pressure to above ambient when they are landing at Hayden or La Paz at night). For many people that makes a lot of sense. If you have oxygen, that is. Look around the GA fleet at airports in the Rockies, and not many have O2 installed.

As always, the regs only define the limits before you get busted. Just because it says you can spend 30 mins at 14,000 doesn't mean to say it's safe. I suspect that number was chosen so the acclimatised pilot in Colorado could safely nip over the continental divide without having to risk his licence. It doesn't mean to say that somebody who lives in Boston can do the same thing on his trip to San Francisco. That could get ugly fast.

I have found that moderate amounts of alcohol drank even 24 hours earlier seriously affects your ability to perform at altitude. On one day I could be happy at 12000 (I'm not saying I wasn't aware of the altitude, just that I was happy). If I had a few beers, then ascended 5000 ft to 12000 I would feel pretty crappy even if I let over 8 hours pass. Something to be aware of, 8 hours bottle to throttle is also only a regulatory minimum.

[Static Discharge]

Lots of people have set high altitude records --- but you can only tie the record for low altitude flight.

[PhilD]

SD - not quite true. I spoke to someone recently who had flown his SEP to the Dead Sea, and therefore flown and landed well below MSL. Perhaps we need a separate thread 'How low have you flown'

BTW My high was from Santa Monica to Big Bear in a PA28 Archer. Cleared to 9500 with a traffic advisory for a 737 (Inbound to LAX) passing 4000 UNDER me! You don't get that out of Blackbushe.

[david viewing]

11,500 in a C-152 in the Grand Canyon VFR corridor and more than 12000' crossing the Rockies north of Sante Fe, NM on a very still and cold morning.

The US has mandatory supplimental Oxygen requirements (above 12,500' for more than 30 min or 14000' at all times). Airspace above 18,000' is class A - not a problem in a 152!

Radio coverage is continuous throughout Arizona at higher levels (say above 8000') and radar too. For instance you can get flight following in the Canyon area.

On calling level 11,500 at the Canyon, a tour pilot came back and said "What! in a 152?" But it was a cool day. Time to climb from GCN (6600') was only about 20 min. (Nil Pax).

[Stedders]

slim_slag,

I have flown in to La Paz and in answer to your question the pressure was decreased on descent so your ears were popping the wrong way. A strange sensation but not as strange as thinking you would never stop after touch down as the ground speed was so high (roughly twice what it would be at sea level we were told).

[Rob_L]

Vimps!!! Venn I vos patrolling in mein Fokker Triplane in 1917 I vos often at 17,000 feet kein oxygen und open cockpit. Vooking kalt.!!!!! However der .303 vickers bullets warmed up der situation nicely.

Manfred Von Richthofen

[Keef]

I think the highest I've ever flown around the UK is 9,500 feet (well, FL95). There aren't many places round here where you can get that high without being in Class A.

In the US, it's very different. Like most folks who fly in California, I did the Big Bear trip, and the Grand Canyon one. For both of those I was up around 12,000 and felt none the worse for it.

And yes, the flight following round the Grand Canyon is amazing. Can't wait to do it again.

[SKYYACHT]

Like Keef, I did 12,500 in an Arrow from Long Beach to Big Bear, and then pottered around in SOCAL airspace, watching the heavies going into John Wayne!

On another occasion I went from Long Beach to Palm Springs, and I seem to remember going through the Banning Pass at quite a high altitude (compared with what is regarded as normal here in the UK). Heat made the Density altitude quite high, and I had to circle for about 20 minutes after departing the springs in order to be safe at about 5,000 feet to come back through the pass into the LA Basin....

:)

[astir 8]

21 000' in a vintage glider in wave in Scotland

12 000' in a West Australian thermal. We were still going up at 1200 feet/min and cloudbase another 3000 feet at least - and the miserable B****** in the back (quite rightly) wouldn't let me go any higher - now that's what I call a thermal!:D

So if you want to go higher in your Robin - ditch the engine

[Census boy]

Have been to 22,000 feet in a SZD Junior from Aboyne and 17,500 in an Astir from Portmoak. Highest in a spam can was something like 5000 crossing Snowdonia in a 172.

[TheKentishFledgling]

FL380 in a 757 (jumpseat!).

And at controls (P2, sorta), FL18 in a Golden Eagle.

Flying up to Scotland in the Golden Eagle again later this year, so might go higher!

tKF

[Manual Reversion]

FL 250 Turbine Islander (once).........Fox Covert (1992)

FL 410 B737 (every day)

[Dan Winterland]

Powered Aircraft - FL510 in a Victor crossing CBs over the ITCZ on the way to Ascension. we were only about 500' above the cloud tops!

Glider - 26000' in a Janus B. we could have got higher, but we were getting low on O2. Others were getting to 31000' that day.

[david.porter9]

FL240 in a Queen's Flight Dominie from Northolt to Cardiff (jump seat).

200ft in a Nimrod MR2 from St Mawgan to the Scillies and back (jump seat).

Almost everything else I did in my four years part-timing in the RAuxAF was a complete waste of time - but it was worth it for those two flights.

The highest I've been on my own is 800ft in a PA38 - my instructor won't let me out of the circuit yet. :)

[EnglishmaninNY]

FL 560 on the BA001 (Concorde).

[FlyingForFun]

Rule clarification - it only counts if you were part of the crew - so sitting in the back of Concorde doesn't count!

For me, it's 10,500'. But, as others have said, it's much more fun lower down ;) Although when the scenery is around 9,000', 10,500' isn't really all that high!

Re. the regs about oxygen at that height: not sure if this has been said already (sorry, skim-reading a bit because I need to get back to studying), but the rules for the crew of commercial flights is that they have to be on oxygen for any period over 30 minutes between 10,000 and 13,000', and for any duration above 13,000'. So just popping up to 12,000' for a few minutes is certainly ok. Not actually sure whether those rules apply to private flights too, though.

FFF
-------------

[BEagle]

Quite right regarding the fact that you must know the rules about oxygen!

When I staggered up to FL140 in a Chipmunk, it was after a real belter of a night in the Officers' Mess at RAF White Waltham. The weather was supposed to be dreadful, so we figured that there was no way we were going to fly the next day - and got utterly wasted.

But, came the day and it was bluer than a blue thing. So we were all told to "Go off, practice your aeros, come back and do a couple of circuits".... I had trouble even starting the thing, managed to turn off both magnetos doing the run-up checks (then turned them back on again, causing a thunderous backfire), and finally slunk off down the 'free lane' to Twyford and Pangbourne, turned south and wondered how to waste the next 40 minutes or so. Hence the idea to climb as high as I could; fortunately Green One was further south in those days. Up and up, round and round for the next 20-25 minutes until I couldn't stand the cold any longer....so how to get down quickly? I know, an 'engine off loop' or two. Dive to 140, pitch up....and nearly pass out! The effect of a surplus of barely-digested Younger’s Tartan bitter and a deficit of oxygen became apparent! It’s actually quite difficult to descend quickly from such a height without cooling the engine too much, so I gritted my teeth and went into a 60 deg AoB descending spiral until down to more normal height. Then back via Woodley for my dutiful couple of circuits followed by a day spent drinking coffee, hiding from my instructor and looking keen pretending to read Pilots’ Notes......

Oh - the folly of youth!!

[Chimbu chuckles]

Beages I seem to remember teaching Snap Rolls in identical circumstances....folly of youth indeed...the only time I've ever been close to motion sickness:(

Sorry off topic...we were only at 3000' in a Super Decathlon:D

Chuckles

[Aussie Andy]

For me it was over Massachusetts early last year - just 10,500 in my mate's tail-dragger, but this was very new experience for me as flying in SE England doesn't present much opportunity to get that high!

I felt anxious and noticed a headache after about 20 minutes at that level. He said both symptoms were common if not used to it. He took control for next 20 minutes, then I was fine and I took over again for descent (Long Island area).

Besides the physical symptoms, it was interesting to note difference from navigation perspective... everything looks different up there, harder to recognise smaler landmarks, but easier to recognise well defined towns. We relied on VORs anyway.

I gather for a lot of guys in the US though, such heights are not at all unusual. My buddy tells me that on long cross countries (e.g., coast-to-coast, or halfway etc.) he regularly flies at this level or higher, especially in his Vari-Eze canard, 11,500 and 12,500 not being uncommon. Helps to get over mountains (lots!) and weather (VFR on top permitted) I gather.

Cheers,


Andy