How high up does US airspace go?

Generally, that airspace from 18,000 feet MSL up to and including FL 600, including the airspace overlying the waters within 12 nautical miles off the coast of the 48 contiguous States and Alaska; and designated international airspace beyond 12 nautical miles off the coast of the 48 contiguous States and Alaska within ...



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Unless designated at a lower altitude, Class E airspace begins at 14,500 MSL over the United States, including that airspace overlying the waters within 12 NM of the coast of the 48 contiguous states and Alaska, up to but not including 18,000 feet MSL, and the airspace above FL 600.

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Types of Controlled Airspace. Depending on location, controlled airspace may start as low as the ground or as high as 14,500 feet in the United States. With each airspace having varying requirements for pilots and weather, it's important to be aware of classes you might potentially encounter on and flight.

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Class A airspace is generally the airspace from 18,000 feet (~3.4 miles, 5.5 km) mean sea level (MSL) up to and including flight level (FL) 600 (~11.4 miles, 18.3 km), including the airspace overlying the waters within 12 nautical miles (NM) (~13.8 miles, 22.2 km) of the coast of the 48 contiguous states and Alaska.

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Jets are the primary user of Class A airspace. It ranges from 18,000 feet (Flight Level 180) to 60,000 feet (FL600). Altitudes 18,000 feet and above are called Flight Levels (FL). Class A airspace is not specifically charted on aeronautical charts.

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In the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has the sole authority to regulate all navigable airspace exclusively determining the rules and requirements for its use.

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The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird had a service ceiling of FL850 and routinely operated above FL600. Many other aircraft in this category (e.g. MiG-25, Tsybin RSR, U-2, RB-57F, M-17 and M-55) can also fly above FL600.

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Class A airspace generally begins from 18,000 feet mean sea level up to and including 60,000 feet. Operations in Class A are generally conducted under Instrument Flight Rules and primarily used by higher performance aircraft, airline and cargo operators, etc.

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Every day, the Federal Aviation Administration provides air traffic service to more than 45,000 flights and 2.9 million airline passengers traveling across the more than 29 million square miles that make up the U.S. national airspace system ( NAS ).

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Vertical boundary There is no international agreement on the vertical extent of sovereign airspace, with suggestions ranging from about 30 km (19 mi)—the extent of the highest aircraft and balloons—to about 160 km (100 mi)—approximately the lowest extent of short-term stable orbits.

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Class G airspace will always start at the ground and go up to 14,500' msl as a maximum.

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A: No commercial or business airplane flying today can exceed 100,000 feet. Special rocket-powered airplanes can fly over 100,000 feet to gather data, but they are specially designed for it.

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Special rocket-powered airplanes can fly over 100,000 feet to gather data, but they are specially designed for it. Q: Much beyond the certified ceiling, can an aircraft maintain altitude? A: During certification testing, airplanes are flown above the certified ceiling, but the performance is limited.

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There are no specific regulations governing civil aircraft operations beyond the altitude of 60,000 feet. Nevertheless, certain exceptional aircraft like the Concorde and the Tupolev Tu-144 have managed to ascend to altitudes of FL600 (equivalent to 60,000 feet).

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Turbine-engine helicopters can reach around 25,000 feet. But the maximum height at which a helicopter can hover is much lower - a high performance helicopter can hover at 10,400 feet.

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Airspace at any altitude over FL600 (60,000 MSL) (the ceiling of Class A airspace) is designated Class E airspace. The U.S. does not use ICAO Class F. Class G (uncontrolled) airspace is mostly used for a small layer of airspace near the ground, but there are larger areas of Class G airspace in remote regions.

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