Optimum flight altitude of a passenger aircraft

According to what principles are the aircraft moving along the routes? What is the altitude of a passenger airplane flight? Why do pilots choose those or other parameters for moving airborne ships in space? To get an answer to the questions presented, you need to consider the following information.

The concept of "ideal" height

The average altitude of the flight of a passenger aircraft is in the range from 9 to 12 thousand meters above sea level. The pilots resort to its recruitment, since in such conditions the airframe hull is less resistant, in view of the sparseness of the air. This simultaneously has its pros and cons. In such conditions, the aircraft engines consume less fuel. However, the engines lack oxygen, which is required to burn fuel. Therefore, when the altitude of the flight of a passenger aircraft reaches the maximum permissible values, the engine power drops somewhat. As practice shows, a set of extreme altitudes is accompanied by a wasteful fuel consumption.

Based on the above, experienced pilots choose the "ideal" heights. The choice of the so-called golden mean facilitates the fastest movement of the passenger aircraft, as well as fuel economy.

Safety Considerations

The average flight altitude of a passenger aircraft of 10,000 meters is selected in part for safety reasons. Why do pilots stop at this particular value? There are several reasons for this:

1. High-powered jet engines of modern passenger aircraft quickly heat up to critical values. Therefore, they need a high-quality cooling, which makes it possible to avoid fires. The temperature overboard at an altitude of 10,000 meters above sea level reaches values of the order of -50 ° C. Such conditions are ideal for cooling engines naturally.
2. At these heights, birds can not climb. The absence of birds, who can crash into glass, plating the plane or enter the engines at considerable speed, is the key to safe flights.
3. If the height of the flight of a passenger aircraft is 10-12 thousand meters, the aircraft is not exposed to rain, snow, thunder, other natural phenomena, since the board is above the cloud formation region.
4. Flights at significant altitudes are carried out in view of the probability of occurrence of extraordinary situations, for example, a course malfunction, engine ignition, aircraft systems failure, loss of communication with dispatchers. At a distance of 10 000 m from the ground, pilots receive more time for meditation, performing the necessary maneuvers and making the right decisions.

Route Requirements

Strangely enough, the sky has its own routes for individual flights. They run at elevated altitudes. Thus, in the event of armed clashes in the territory of certain countries over which the aircraft flies, passengers will be relatively safe. The organization of routes at separate altitudes ranging from 9 to 12 thousand kilometers also avoids space congestion and accidental collisions of aircraft.

Finally

So we figured out how high the flight of a passenger aircraft is considered optimal. The definition of routes for the movement of aircraft are engaged in the headquarters of airlines. They monitor the progress of their movement and make the necessary adjustments. Therefore, individual aircraft can change their altitude during the flight.