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How Low Can fighter jets fly?
In combat, many aircraft will operate at altitudes as low as 100 feet and at high airspeeds to defeat ground missile radars and avoid sophisticated surface-to-air missiles, anti-aircraft artillery, and enemy fighters.
At what height do aircrafts usually fly?
Commercial aircraft typically fly between 31,000 and 38,000 feet — about 5.9 to 7.2 miles — high and usually reach their cruising altitudes in the first 10 minutes of a flight, according to Beckman. Planes can fly much higher than this altitude, but that can present safety issues.
How high can an F 15 fly?
Technical Specifications
First flight | July 27, 1972 |
---|---|
Length | 63 feet 9 inches |
Height | 18 feet 8 inches |
Ceiling | 65,000 feet |
Range | 2,400 miles |
How high can an airplane fly?
The highest that a commercial airplane can fly is 45,000 feet. Most military planes fly at around 50,000 feet and sometimes higher. Some rocket-powered planes can fly as high as 100,000 feet but they are specially designed for this purpose. These rocket-powered planes are used mostly to collect data and are the only planes that can fly this high.
Why do fighter jets fly at such a low altitude?
Less dense air-> less drag on airplane-> so less power required for same velocity as in lower altitude-> this means less fuel used. Not affected by the thunderstorms, bad weather, turbulence. Usually fighter jets fly at 10,000 m (33,000 ft) altitude. Reaching more than this also puts constraint on oxygen available.
Why do airplanes fly at 38000 feet?
The biggest reason planes fly at 38,000 feet is the air is thinner. This creates less drag on the plane, so the plane uses less fuel. Fuel is a huge cost for airlines and so fuel efficiency is extremely important. Above 38,000 feet, the air gets too thin to hold the plane up.
What is the maximum altitude a jet can fly?
Most commercial jetliners cruise somewhere between 30,000 and 45,000 feet above mean sea level. At higher speeds and altitudes, there isn’t enough oxygen in the air to continuously burn the jet fuel required to stay up there. Engines designed to work very well that high, have serious limitations when they are operated closer to the surface.