What is the upper limit of airspace?

Vertical boundary The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale has established the Kármán line—at an altitude of 100 km (62 mi)—as the boundary between the Earth's atmosphere and outer space, while the United States considers anyone who has flown above 80 kilometres (50 mi) to be an astronaut.



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As the federal authority over operations in all airspace and the regulating authority over operations, the FAA will ensure that the ETM cooperative vision aligns with agency goals and meets the requirements for safe and efficient operations.

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Class D areas should normally extend upward from the surface up to and including 2,500 feet AGL. The altitude must be converted to MSL and rounded to the nearest 100 feet.

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Can we fly over it? Technically yes, BUT it's still a very bad idea because a motor out would force you to descend through the Class C airspace. We CAN'T fly here without special permission from ATC. Permission should be obtained in advance by telephone (some controllers will accept a radio call).

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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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There are two categories of airspace or airspace areas: Regulatory (Class A, B, C, D, and E airspace areas, restricted and prohibited areas). Nonregulatory (military operations areas [MOA], warning areas, alert areas, controlled firing areas [CFA], and national security areas [NSA]).

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In the 1900s, Hungarian physicist Theodore von Kármán determined the boundary to be around 50 miles up, or roughly 80 kilometers above sea level. Today, though, the Kármán line is set at what NOAA calls “an imaginary boundary” that's 62 miles up, or roughly a hundred kilometers above sea level.

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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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In short, the real purpose of Class F is to allow flights to remain IFR in uncontrolled environments. Since this is a sort of mix between Class E and Class G airspace, there is no Class F inside the United States.

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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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Class G airspace (uncontrolled) is that portion of airspace that has not been designated as Class A, Class B, Class C, Class D, or Class E airspace. Rules governing VFR flight have been adopted to assist the pilot in meeting the responsibility to see and avoid other aircraft.

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Restricted areas denote the existence of unusual, often invisible, hazards to aircraft such as artillery firing, aerial gunnery, or guided missiles.

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The sweet spot of flying is regarded as between 35,000 and 42,000 feet (the airline industry still uses feet and inches as its standard measurements) – too high and the oxygen becomes too sparse to fuel the engines, too low and the air resistance is greater.

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Different airplanes have different maximum altitudes, depending on their construction. For example, the Airbus A320 has a maximum altitude of 39,000 feet (11,900m) and the Boeing 747 45,000 feet (13,700m).

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Aerodynamic altitude: If a commercial airliner flies too high, it will encounter less dense air passing over the wings to create lift. This can cause the plane to stall and fall out of control. Depending on the weather conditions and aircraft weight, this can occur anywhere between 40,000 and 45,000 feet.

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Class Charlie Airspace surrounds those airports that have an at least operational Air Traffic Control Tower (ATCT), and Terminal Radar Approach Controls (TRACON) These air traffic control agencies provide radar services which apply whenever operating within Class C airspace as depicted on various aeronautical charts.

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In class E airspace, IFR aircraft are controlled by ATC. This might be a center facility (Air Route Traffic Control Center) or approach/departure facility. As a VFR aircraft, you aren't required to be in contact with ATC, but IFR aircraft must operate on an ATC clearance. That means the airspace is controlled.

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