Personal Altitude Records

[ShuRugal]

So, flying the Ultimate Argument campaign, I have made a habit of seeing what kind of speed and/or altitude I can achieve when I RTB. I managed a new personal best today, 32,671 meters ASL, beginning the climb at 14.8 km MSL and 2,523 km/hr TAS.

 

What have others managed to pull off?

[=Mac=]

The service ceiling for the Su-27 is 19,000 m (62,523 ft)

 

The service ceiling is the maximum usable altitude of an aircraft. Specifically, it is the density altitude at which flying in a clean configuration, at the best rate of climb airspeed for that altitude and with all engines operating and producing maximum continuous power, will produce a given rate of climb (a typical value might be 100 feet per minute climb or 30 metres per minute, or on the order of 500 feet per minute climb for jet aircraft). Margin to stall at service ceiling is 1.5 g.

 

However, the absolute ceiling is the highest altitude at which an aircraft can sustain level flight, which means the altitude at which the thrust of the engines at full power is equal to the total drag at minimum drag speed. In other words, it is the altitude where maximum thrust available equals minimum thrust required, so the altitude where the maximum sustained (with no decreasing airspeed) rate of climb is zero.

 

The highest current world absolute general aviation altitude record achieved by a manned Airbreathing jet engine propelled aircraft is 37,650 metres (123,520 ft) set by Alexandr Fedotov, in a Mikoyan Gurevitch E-266M (MiG-25M), on 31 August 1977 . He did it at Podmoskovnoye, USSR in a zoom climb. The aircraft was actually a MiG-25RB re-engined with the powerful R15BF2-300. It had earlier been part of the program to improve the aircraft's top speed that resulted in the MiG-25M prototype.

 

I have no doubt that an Su-27 flown in DCS World can make an altitude record of well over 105,000 feet. However, I do not believe an actual, real life Su-27 can make it that high. Still, though, doing it in DCS is a cool thing to do! Now, what about the Huey? :)

Edited April 19, 2015 by =Mac=

[ShuRugal]

umm, way to miss the point? I don't care about the service ceiling rating, or the absolute ceiling. I want to know how high other people have pushed their Flankers.

[combatace]

The service ceiling for the Su-27 is 19,000 m (62,523 ft)

 

The service ceiling is the maximum usable altitude of an aircraft. Specifically, it is the density altitude at which flying in a clean configuration, at the best rate of climb airspeed for that altitude and with all engines operating and producing maximum continuous power, will produce a given rate of climb (a typical value might be 100 feet per minute climb or 30 metres per minute, or on the order of 500 feet per minute climb for jet aircraft). Margin to stall at service ceiling is 1.5 g.

 

However, the absolute ceiling is the highest altitude at which an aircraft can sustain level flight, which means the altitude at which the thrust of the engines at full power is equal to the total drag at minimum drag speed. In other words, it is the altitude where maximum thrust available equals minimum thrust required, so the altitude where the maximum sustained (with no decreasing airspeed) rate of climb is zero.

 

The highest current world absolute general aviation altitude record achieved by a manned Airbreathing jet engine propelled aircraft is 37,650 metres (123,520 ft) set by Alexandr Fedotov, in a Mikoyan Gurevitch E-266M (MiG-25M), on 31 August 1977 . He did it at Podmoskovnoye, USSR in a zoom climb. The aircraft was actually a MiG-25RB re-engined with the powerful R15BF2-300. It had earlier been part of the program to improve the aircraft's top speed that resulted in the MiG-25M prototype.

 

I have no doubt that an Su-27 flown in DCS World can make an altitude record of well over 105,000 feet. However, I do not believe an actual, real life Su-27 can make it that high. Still, though, doing it in DCS is a cool thing to do! Now, what about the Huey? :)

 

You are mistaken my friend. Absolute altitude record does not mean sustained flight, that is what service ceiling means. Absolute altitude means a zoom climb till your engines can push you and then you start dropping or you have to put your nose down to avoid stall.

[DarkFire]

31,108 m is as high as I've managed so far.

[Dell_Murrey-RUS]

Nice theme! :thumbup:

 

DCSW 1.2.10 (build 32582) - F-15C (PFM).

My altitude - 37724 meters.

 

Full flight video (online Smile Pilots Club server with dynamic weather):

 

Current version of F-15C (PFM) can take some more altitude. :)

 

 

In the current version of Su-27 I'm stable climbing above 36,700 meters. :)

But the video has not yet been done. Maybe later I'll do video with a flight dynamic altitude on Su-27.

[Dell_Murrey-RUS]

Some screenshots of dynamic altitude from online. :)

 

Current ver. Su-27 (PFM) - 36653 meters.

 

Current ver. F-15C (PFM) - 38409 meters.

 

Screens attached.

[ShuRugal]

put 2km on top of my personal, 34433 just now.

[Guest deeplodokus]

how the hell do you manage to get that high?? :smoke: :D

 

i've only managed to go up to 16km high or something, even without much fuel left. do you have afterburners all the way? what rate of climb do you sustain? do you keep a constant climb rate, or do you gain speed, go up quickly, then level until you get some more speed?

 

thank you :)

[Art-J]

^ Read up on "zoom climb" vs "sustained climb". Your 16 km is sustained, their 30+ is zoomed.

[Guest deeplodokus]

^ Read up on "zoom climb" vs "sustained climb". Your 16 km is sustained, their 30+ is zoomed.

thank you for pointing me the right direction :)

just saw a video on youtube of a guy who starts at 12.5km alt and approx 1100 km/h IAS, then he goes VERY steep up to 26km or so

to reach 36-ish km like you guys, how do you do it, concretely? what start alt and IAS, what subsequent climb rate? do you "rest" at some point to regain speed? when you "rest", do you go down in altitude or do you stay level?

 

thank you! i look forward to trying that when i return home :D

[Exorcet]

I mess around with the Eagle more than the Flanker, I've been up to 124,042 ft. Usually I climb to 35,000+ ft and accelerate. I may dive between Mach 1 and 1.3 and then climb back up. When fuel gets low, I'm typically doing at least Mach 2.2 and then I'll just pull up at about 45 degrees and leave the AB on. I don't really know what the absolute best profile is, I've only really done this while messing around. It would seem it's different for the two planes as I think I've only been to around 100,000 ft in the Su-27.

 

 

Note in real life, engines may overheat or flameout so if you want to do a more realistic climb, cut engines when you pass 70 or 80,000 ft.

 

There is some good video of the Streak Eagle record on Youtube.

 

[Guest deeplodokus]

i'll try that, thanks!

 

Note in real life, engines may overheat or flameout so if you want to do a more realistic climb, cut engines when you pass 70 or 80,000 ft.

ha, why would they overheat at altitudes higher than that? or you mean that by the time you reach that altitude, you'd have used AB for long enough that it'd be overheating?

[Exorcet]

The air gets thinner and provides less cooling, especially the bypass flow around the engine core. I don't know the specific limitations on the engines modeled in the sim though.

[Guest deeplodokus]

The air gets thinner and provides less cooling, especially the bypass flow around the engine core. I don't know the specific limitations on the engines modeled in the sim though.

mh mh. at the same time, doesn't it get colder as you go higher? i guess it doesn't get colder fast enough then :)

[ShuRugal]

how the hell do you manage to get that high?? :smoke: :D

 

i've only managed to go up to 16km high or something, even without much fuel left. do you have afterburners all the way? what rate of climb do you sustain? do you keep a constant climb rate, or do you gain speed, go up quickly, then level until you get some more speed?

 

thank you :)

 

My method is to climb to 7km on mil-power, then engage afterburners and climb at 10-degrees to between 12 and 14 km. Then i level out, accelerate to at least mach 2.4, and pull 3Gs up to 50~60 degrees, then hold that until i run out of energy.

[Exorcet]

mh mh. at the same time, doesn't it get colder as you go higher? i guess it doesn't get colder fast enough then :)

It gets colder yes, but you get less of a heat sink because of the reduced mass flow of air. Rather than temperature, what is important is heat. The temperature is lower, but with less mass you have reduced heat capacity.