CEILING- The heights above the earth's surface of the lowest layer of clouds or obscuring phenomena that is reported as “broken,” “overcast,” or “obscuration,” and not classified as “thin” or “partial.”
People Also Ask
The definition of the service ceiling is the height above sea level at which an aircraft with normal-rated load is unable to climb faster than 100 feet per minute under standard air conditions.
Do they need some special clearance? Yes, you can fly VFR over the top of a cloud deck as long as you can maintain 1,000 ft.above the clouds. No clearance is necessary, however you still are flying VFR and must see and avoid other aircraft.
First, we must have clear sky or a scattered layer to climb through for VFR over-the-top. This is easily ascertained. Second, we must be sure that the broken or overcast layer does not rise beyond the capability of the airplane or the legal limit for flight without supplemental oxygen.
The VFR Cruising Altitude rule does not apply below 3,000 feet AGL. There are some altitudes, however, that pilots seem to choose for level flight. Close to sea level they are 1000, 1500, 2000 and 2500. They are easy to read and remember on an altimeter.
VFR aircraft also must maintain a horizontal distance of 1sm from clouds while operating in Class E at and above 10,000ft. Below 10,000ft, the increase in TAS is reduced due to the lower altitudes. Therefore, the minimum forward flight visibility can be reduced from 5sm to 3sm.
Use of instrument flight rules is also required when flying in Class A airspace regardless of weather conditions. Class A airspace extends from 18,000 feet above mean sea level to flight level 600 (60,000 feet pressure altitude) above the contiguous 48 United States and overlying the waters within 12 miles thereof.
In some countries, VFR flight is permitted at night, and is known as night VFR. This is generally permitted only under more restrictive conditions, such as maintaining minimum safe altitudes, and may require additional training as a pilot at night may not be able to see and avoid obstacles.
The maximum height that a commercial airplane is allowed to reach when they fly is 42,000 feet, as this is the universally approved maximum altitude. This max altitude for airplanes is known as the “service ceiling.” Most commercial air jets fly at such a high altitude because it is known to optimize efficiency.
A series of Navy and Air Force programs in the 1950s and 1960s used pressure vessels or pressure suits to get balloonists higher, some to above 100,000 feet. Skydiver Nicholas Piantanida set an unofficial record—123,500 feet—in 1966, but a later attempt went awry when his helmet depressurized.