- Commercial Airliners: Both Concorde (service ceiling FL600) and the Tupolev Tu-144 (service ceiling FL660) could reach FL600. ...
- Business Jets: ...
- Military Reconnaissance Aircraft: ...
- Military Fighter Jets: ...
- Experimental Aircraft:
To summarize, a Boeing 747 is incapable of ascending up to 60,000 feet. The highest altitude a commercial jetliner can reach is approximately 45,000 feet, while corporate aircraft can fly slightly above 50,000 feet, but only if they are specifically designed for that purpose.
MORE DETAILS
Flying beyond the altitude of 60,000 feet entails the risks of structural failure, physiological hazards, and decreased operational efficiency. Commercial airliners are specifically engineered for lower altitudes, and exceeding these prescribed limits may also give rise to aerodynamic complications.
MORE DETAILS
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.
MORE DETAILS
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).
MORE DETAILS
In fact, the plane is so fast that one of the F-16 pilots who escorted Air Force One to Washington on 9/11 recalls having to speed up to catch up with it. Air Force One also flies high — it can reach a maximum altitude of 45,100 feet, which is far above than the usual cruising altitude for commercial flights.
MORE DETAILS
The speed record is also held by an SR-71, at 2,193 mph. This is not as high or as fast as the airplane can fly, however, it's absolute speed and altitude limits are classified. Most US military aircraft can exceed 50,000 feet, if they really really try. Again, the limits are classified.
MORE DETAILS
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.
MORE DETAILS
' For example, for the double-decker Airbus A380' superjumbo' quadjet, the service ceiling is 43,000 feet. Meanwhile, for the Boeing 787-8 and -9 'Dreamliner,' it is 43,100 feet. However, the stretched-fuselage 787-10 comes in a little lower, at 41,100 feet. Want answers to more key questions in aviation?
MORE DETAILS
It was in 1977 that the highest current altitude record achieved by a manned air-breathing jet engine propelled aircraft was set, when Alexandr Fedotov flew to a height of 123,520 ft in a Mikoyan Gurevitch E-266M. That's about three times the normal cruising altitude of a passenger jet!
MORE DETAILS