Can a helicopter fly at 40000 feet elevation?

What is the highest altitude that a helicopter can fly? The world record in forward flight is around 40,000 feet. The highest landing was on Mount Everest, around 29,000 feet. The limitation is the rotor (a spinning wing), more than the engine, most modern helicopters use jet turbines to spin the rotors.



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Yes, there have been a few examples when helicopters have been able to fly beyond Everest. In 1972 an Aerospatiale SA 315 Lama was able to fly up to to12,442 meters for the first time, making up a world record. This record was beaten in 2002 when Eurocopter AS350 B2 flew over the height of 12,954 meters.

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While helicopters can fly long distances over water, limitations like their smaller fuel tanks make them impractical for crossing whole oceans without refueling or making an extended stopover somewhere along the way.

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