He has oxygen, and when he filed the IR flight plan, they did not question the altitude. On departure, the hand off to en-route was immediately cleared to cruise altitude, no steps up. None of his hand offs from sector to sector questioned a Skyhawk at 17,000, which surprised him.
Very strong tail wind, and his ground speed made the climb worth it. The plane was light, as he was solo, it was winter, so cold air for better engine performance. Indicated airspeed was low, of course, and fuel burn was in proportion to indicated air speed, with the mixture lean of peak. One mag is electronic, and has variable timing, so increased efficiency there too, both better fuel economy, and more horsepower. Obviously, the throttle was wide open. The prop had to be re pitched to keep the RPM under red line at sea level, level flight, full throttle.
Wonder if he had a vapor trail?
Sundancer, I am the member emeritus that occasionally attends meetings. Send me an email from the club list.
