From 38000 ft, a jet might glide for 75 to 100 nautical miles (140 to 180 km), and take about 20 minutes to do so.
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One serving long-haul captain based in the UK explained to MailOnline Travel that 'typically a jet can glide about two miles for each 1,000ft of altitude'. He continued: 'So at 40,000ft cruise altitude the range of the aircraft to touchdown is about 80 miles.
Question: If the engines quit at 30,000 feet, how far can a jetliner glide? -- submitted by reader Tonya Washington, Alexandria, Va. Answer: It would vary depending upon the wind, but around 100 miles would be a good estimate.
The lift-drag ratio for commercial airliners is about 16:1. The distance that a 747 could glide is a function of altitude. Gliding from cruise altitude of 30,000 ft, or about five miles would have a range of 80 miles.
The A380 has a glide ratio of about 15:1, which means that for every 15 kilometers (9 miles) it travels horizontally, it loses 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) of altitude. Therefore, if an A380 is cruising at 12 kilometers (7 miles) above sea level, it can glide for about 180 kilometers (110 miles) before reaching the ground.
Commercial jetliners have a limited elevation ceiling of about 45,000 feet. While corporate aircraft can fly higher, slightly above 50,000 feet, they are specifically designed for such purposes. However, reaching an altitude of 60,000 feet would require super-efficient engines and glider-like wings.
Many large widebodies have a ceiling of up to around 43,000 feet (12,500 meters). The Airbus A380, for example, is 43,100 feet and the A350 and Boeing 787 are the same (although the larger 787-10 and A350-1000 are lower at 41,100 feet and 41,450 feet).
Without engine thrust, a 747-200 has a glide ratio of roughly 15:1, meaning it can glide forward 15 kilometres for every kilometre it drops. The flight crew quickly determined that the aircraft was capable of gliding for 23 minutes and covering 91 nautical miles (169 km) from its flight level of 37,000 feet (11,000 m).
Although private jets tend to cruise at an altitude of 41,000 feet, they have the capability of reaching heights of 45,000 feet. Altitudes higher than this tend to be reserved for military aircraft that comfortably reach an altitude of up to 51,000 feet.
A major reason for flying at that altitude is money; After labor, fuel is the greatest expense for airlines. That's why airlines are constantly working to maximize their fuel efficiency. Cruising at 36,000 feet helps with that. The higher altitude means thinner air.
Techincally, there is only one way for the aircraft to remain hanging motionless in the air: if weight and lift cancel each other out perfectly, and at the same time thrust and drag cancel each other out too. But this is incredibly rare. To stay in the air and sustain its flight, an aircraft needs to be moving forward.
The first thing to bear in mind is that aeroplanes are not stones; they all have wings that allow them to glide in the event of engine failure. In fact, each aircraft has an associated glide ratio: an index that relates the metres an aircraft advances for every metre of altitude it loses in gliding.
According to flight attendant Brenda Orelus, the dirties place on an airplane is not the lavatory or the tray tables. It is the seat-back pockets. IN a video that Orelus posted on TikTok she revealed to her more than 100,000 followers that the pockets are full of germs and are almost never cleaned.