Is the service ceiling as quoted in the POH a legal limit or just a statement of aircraft performance ( the level where the aircraft stops climbing).
In other words, if the quoted service ceiling is 20,000ft and you manage to get to 21,000ft is this illegal?
No, it is not illegal to climb higher than the service ceiling in the POH. The SC is just a statement about a/c performance – and it is the altitude at which the airplane will nit climb with more than 100 feet per minute.
Are you sure? For that matter, the service ceiling of the Cirrus SR22 Turbo is 25.000 feet. When approaching 25.000 feet I am still climbing out with good performance and could easily continue to climb. However, I think due to oxygen demands, the limitation is set at 25.000 feet. I don’t think I am allowed to climb higher, but am not a specialist in these kind of issues.
For certain aircraft, a Maximum Operating Altitude is published. Often, these aircraft are technically capable of flying much higher than that. Reasons are limitations due to unpressurized mags, limitations on the pitot-static system or on the pressure cabin. Examples are the SR22, T182RG and P210.
Thank you. That’s what my pilot pal in America said. The point is my C182 has a bigger engine than standard, the standard engine is 235HP and mine is 300Hp (IO550). The service ceiling in the POH is 17,000ft but with the extra power I can easily go above that hence my question.
The way the figure is arrived at varies between G-reg and N-reg; a G-reg TB20 is max 20k but an N-reg is max 18k (or maybe the other way round). I think one uses 50fpm and the other uses 100fpm.
The limitation is a legal operating limit only if it appears in a formal limitations section of the POH. Merely listing it under Performance means nothing.
Eurocontrol use these values to reject flight plans filed at higher levels. For example a few years ago I got them to increase the “TRIN” type (both TB20 and TB21) from FL200 to FL240. In fact I was amazed that nobody else had complained about that before – especially as I don’t even fly a TB21 
100 fpm is correct under a US Type Cerificate.
Service ceiling, as defined by a climb rate and as Peter says, has nothing to do with any legal operating limitations defined seperately in POH.
boscomantico,
what IS the max operating altitude for our SR22s? I have never seen that in the POH.
As stupid as it sounds I think in many GA aircraft the limiting factor is the altimeter if it is only certified up to FL200. But in real life if you ask for FL210 you will probably get a clearance and nobody will complain.
The service ceiling itself is not limiting legally. There are some aircraft types which specifiy a maximum operating altitude in the “Limitations” section of the flight manual. If it is there as a limitation, it is limiting legally. If the aircraft has an oxygen system as a part of its type design, there may be an operational limitation associated with that, as the requirements for provision of oxygen change above 25k. If you demonstrated that you were carrying a system capable of the higher altitude requirements, you’d probably by okay to go higher (but I hear it’s not nice up there unpressurised).
During testing, I’ve had a carburetted O-520 C185 to 20,800 feet, and a O-550 powered 180 amphibian eagerly climbing through 17,500, when I had to stop ‘cause that was the highest VFR level in that locale. Having twice flown Transatlantic at 15k, I can tell you that after a couple of hours up there, you’d rather be lower….
