27th Congress of International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences, 19 - 24 September 2010, Nice, France
Paper ICAS 2010-1.4.1
WHY COMMERCIAL JET PLANES CRUISE AT 30,000FT? CONCEPTUAL OPTIMAL CRUISE ALTITUDE
J.-L. Boiffier, L. Bovet*
Isae-SupAéro and Onéra, France; *Airbus, France
Keywords: aircraft design, conceptual design, cruise altitude, optimum
The jet commercial airplanes cruising altitude near 30000ft, is demonstrated as a conceptual optimal altitude, chosen by the designer and not by the pilot.
This optimum results from the gain of a good L/D with the altitude which is paid with an increasing empty weight.
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