Boeing optimum altitude and recommended altitude. Why does optimum not consider wind?
Joined: Jul 2013
Aviation Qualifications: Non-Aircrew
Posts: 5,676
Likes: 3,318
From: Everett, WA
Optimum altitude is reasonably independent of weather conditions - and so can be readily determined using a fairly generic formula.
Including winds means you'll get a different answer every day - and includes data (winds at altitude) that is often not readily available.
Including winds means you'll get a different answer every day - and includes data (winds at altitude) that is often not readily available.
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 2,166
Likes: 86
From: Planet Earth
Recommended altitude wasn’t originally in our 757/67 FMCs
We had optimum and max, normally you wouldn’t want to go higher than 2000 above optimum so leaving that parameter in as a baseline is still useful
We had optimum and max, normally you wouldn’t want to go higher than 2000 above optimum so leaving that parameter in as a baseline is still useful
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 541
Likes: 336
From: Blue sky
Which aircraft type?
AFAIK the term optimum altitude is used across many different Boeing types, but will indicate the same parameter. It was "created" for fleets starting from the 737-classic and still remains available on ie B777 (some have the ability to upload wind data inflight, some don't). There are always wind/altitude tradeoff tables that can be used to have more correct information.
Some Boeing FMCs provide "recommened" altitudes that take wind into account for a limited section in front of the route (I believe the 777 has this indicated), as wind data is considered only a forecast.
AFAIK the term optimum altitude is used across many different Boeing types, but will indicate the same parameter. It was "created" for fleets starting from the 737-classic and still remains available on ie B777 (some have the ability to upload wind data inflight, some don't). There are always wind/altitude tradeoff tables that can be used to have more correct information.
Some Boeing FMCs provide "recommened" altitudes that take wind into account for a limited section in front of the route (I believe the 777 has this indicated), as wind data is considered only a forecast.
