82,000ft

[WelshZeCorgi]

What happens when you pass the service ceiling? As I was testing out the controls (I did that spudknocker trick to rebind all my old keybinds and axis') I went into full afterburner and see what would happen if I just climbed. I got up to 82-83,000 over nevada. According to wikipedia, so not the best source, it said 54,000 is the service ceiling. So is it a bug that the engines didn't flame out or the cockpit didn't experience explosive decompression or that the blood in our bodies didn't boil from the lack of airpressure or something?

[Golo]

Service ceiling is not the maximum attainable altitude for the aircraft. It is altitude where you can from level flight still climb with at least 0,5m/s (100ft/min). Absolute ceiling is where you cant climb anymore.

If you do zoom climb like you probably did you can get way higher (I got above 100k ft in B) but you are basically on ballistic trajectory, whether the engine would still operate? Probably not.

[captain_dalan]

What happens when you pass the service ceiling? As I was testing out the controls (I did that spudknocker trick to rebind all my old keybinds and axis') I went into full afterburner and see what would happen if I just climbed. I got up to 82-83,000 over nevada. According to wikipedia, so not the best source, it said 54,000 is the service ceiling. So is it a bug that the engines didn't flame out or the cockpit didn't experience explosive decompression or that the blood in our bodies didn't boil from the lack of airpressure or something?

 

Zoom climb or level flight?

 

Aside from that, i've had a chance to talk to some 14A drivers, that apparently took her quite high, however they refused to disclose the exact altitude.

[WelshZeCorgi]

I climbed to 82,000 in full ab, 2,000 ft per minute most of the way.

 

the SR-71's record altitude was 85,000 and those pilots need some sort of spacesuit to survive. Wouldn't something bad happen if a tomcat pilot/rio got anywhere near that altitude?

[QuiGon]

Wouldn't something bad happen if a tomcat pilot/rio got anywhere near that altitude?

 

Yes, which is why no Tomcat pilot would ever attempt to do that, even if the aircraft might be able to get there.

[WelshZeCorgi]

Something should happen then, like the hypoxia effect when you start getting dangerously high and blackout and death if you remain there or go even higher. Right?

 

Edit: so technically a bug or no?

[Golo]

Something should happen then, like the hypoxia effect when you start getting dangerously high and blackout and death if you remain there or go even higher. Right?

 

Edit: so technically a bug or no?

 

Its sort of a bug. The jet fighters and test aircraft are definitly able to reach such altitudes. Question is if engines would take it, as I said probably not, based on IRL examples engines often quit and cockpit would get depressurized so pilots had to were high alt pressure suits.

Go search the interwebs for "Zoom climb" there are some interesting articles about it.

[Buzzles]

I climbed to 82,000 in full ab, 2,000 ft per minute most of the way.

 

the SR-71's record altitude was 85,000 and those pilots need some sort of spacesuit to survive. Wouldn't something bad happen if a tomcat pilot/rio got anywhere near that altitude?

 

They didn't wear the pressure suits simply because of the altitude per se. They wore them mostly in case the cockpit depressurised or they had to eject at high alt / high speed. Same as U2 pilots.

 

Fwiw, an EE Lightning was taken to just over 88,000 feet in zoom climb during pretty normal operations. It's totally possible.

 

Hypoxia is also time dependent, as it's oxygen depletion over time, and even if the masks aren't supplying *all* the needed o2, they're still supplying some. Popping up to those alts and then coming straight back down to the service ceiling isn't going to mean instant unconsciousness.

 

[Frederf]

Service ceiling is purely an aerodynamic term. It's defined as a certain climb potential (climb potential decreasing with altitude) at maximum dry thrust. Typically combat ceiling is 500 fpm, service 100 fpm, absolute 0 fpm. Sometimes it's also defined at MTOW which of course is a lot more restrictive than lesser fuel.

 

The maximum operating altitude is something else entirely. It might be less, equal, or greater. That's how high you're allowed to fly and often set by cooling performance, engine running limits, pressurization, ejection safety, crew training, etc.

[captain_dalan]

Something should happen then, like the hypoxia effect when you start getting dangerously high and blackout and death if you remain there or go even higher. Right?

 

Edit: so technically a bug or no?

 

If in a sustained flight, then possibly a bug, yes. As for the pilot not exploding......well, that's just DCS for you. It doesn't simulate those conditions. You can take a number of planes in this sim, and take them north of 100000ft and still land without issues.

[Bailey]

Just a heads up, there are other definitions for max altitude that don't evolve the engines.

[Eldur]

Service ceiling is not the maximum attainable altitude for the aircraft. It is altitude where you can from level flight still climb with at least 0,5m/s (100ft/min).

 

That (BTW 500ft/min for jets) and maximum continuous power. So it's highly unlikely that this includes the usage of afterburners which isn't exactly continuous given the fact it runs you dry in like 5-10 minutes unless you're very high (50k+).

 

I've seen numbers as low as just 45k for the Tomcat which is where I got the B to - barely. You can trick out more of the thing by manually bringing the wings back forward though. Or by going supersonic so you don't end up at like 200 canots indicated with the wings swept back (much less dense air should allow for that unless you go supersonic where the shock waves probably won't be too great for your wings, the CADC isn't programmed for that however). I mean, just try flying with that geometry down low. It's literally a drag fest.

 

Something should happen then, like the hypoxia effect when you start getting dangerously high and blackout and death if you remain there or go even higher. Right?

 

Well, it's a general DCS issue. I mean, just ask the other Eagle driver who went up through 100k in some occasions in DCS... and yes, the pressurization works only so far, the pressure altitude should raise as you climb beginning at some point and when it reaches a level that you'd get hypoxia at without, it should give you that up there as well.