That’s cool. Up high and still some room to go.
loco wrote:
2k to reach the ceiling
That is indeed hard to beat unless anbody here has got a Lear, Gulfstream, Concorde or modern warbird. But are you worried about the radiation flying that high up? I once talked to a retired captain and he reported that on his airline crews had been worried about the long terms effects and that was on 747 which did cruise quite a bit lower.
The crews of light biz jets usually fly only 200 hours or so per year, and cruise flight is short.
For airline (longhaul) it’s a factor, at least that’s my feeling. Flying 8 hours over the pond is a full ct scan right there (any medical experts here can verify)?
The problem is radiation exposure of longhaul crews is only calculated, not measured. Sun eruptions aren’t accounted in the results as much as they deserve.
Nevertheless, over 45k ft your family jewels will get a nice green glow for sure ;)
Snoopy wrote:
Sun eruptions aren’t accounted in the results as much as they deserve.
The Concorde had radiation meters. I recall from the days when it was still in operation reading about procedures for “Emergency descent of supersonic aircraft due to increased radiation from the sun.” ATC were specifically warned that this would affect all supersonic aircraft in the same area at the same time!
Snoopy wrote:
Flying 8 hours over the pond is a full ct scan right there
It isn`t that simple. First there are many different parts of the human body which can be scanned with computed tomography, the radiation dose required for this varies considerably. The radiation dose is measured im Millisievert mSv. For example the skull examination results in a radiation dose of 2 mSv, for the CT examination of the chest, 4-6 mSv is calculated, the scan of the Abdomen is 10-20 mSv.
An X-ray of the lungs results in a dose of 0.05 – 0,1 mSv.
The amount of radiation humans are exposed to while flying is less than half of the radiation they’re exposed to when receiving a chest X-ray.
It is important to note that these numbers are just estimates. The duration of the flight determines the radiation dose in addition to the altitude.
Sebastian_G wrote:
But are you worried about the radiation flying that high up?
The Learjet can’t climb 490 or 510 until very light. We climbed for fun and one can see from the picture that we’re about to descend, so total time spent was in minutes. Normally we would fly 410 on short flights and 430 to 470 on longer flights, depending on weight. I was told that a Geiger counter would click more up there, but don’t have one to try it. Anyway, as Snoopy writes, the time spent at these altitudes is not long for a bizjet pilot.
I don’t find the picture but for me it’s FL450.
The best time spent their is having a good lunch or diner
Same as loco we usually cruise at 400-410 max cruise speed but for longhaul we slow down and climb 430 then 450 depending on weight
Late to the party here but FL200 in my TR182. It was still producing full cruise power (25"). A long time ago since in my normal flying there’s no reason to go that high. I generally cross the SIerra Nevada at 13500 to avoid needing oxygen, since I so rarely use the system there is generally something wrong with it!
I am just jealous but it reminds me of the story, and this is the very brief version of the chap in his Turkey proudly calling up and asking for air traffic to let him know his ground speed. 110 knots or some such came back. So it worked up, each pilot seeking to out do the other, until some smart arse in a F16 knew he had won the pissing contest. Of course there was a pause in the comms, and in a very slow voice the pilot asked what his ground speed was. the controller said you are showing 1995 knots over the ground, sir. Inevitably the guy in the back couldnt resist with a shucks, I think you may have that slightly off, I am reporting 3,005 knots up here.
The SR71 took the contest, and could certainly wind up the clock to mac 3 and more, and look down on every else from 85,000 feet.
FL130 in our Cessna 172S during my IR training, enroute between Hamburg and Groningen. It took some time to get there.
