What's your cruise altitude ( AGL )

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jtheune

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John T
A little background, I fly out of a 2500 foot strip inside the SFRA in a 182. The B space extends about 10 miles from my home airport so I tend to fly low out of there.

So here's the question: What your normal cruise altitude (AGL)? I tend to stay at 2500 or so if I'm going less then 50 miles but the first 10 are mandated. If i'm going on a longer trip then I'll be up between 5,000 and 8,000. I rarely get above 10,000.
 
If I'm staying local I'm usually at 500-1000'AGL. If I'm going somewhere I'll go up to 5000-9000MSL for better cruise speeds.

If I'm crossing a body of water (Lake Michigan) I'll usually be around 12,500'MSL or so for glide range.
 
However high it takes to get above the bumps and hopefully in comfortable air (temperature).

Non-turbo, rarely below 3000 AGL for flights of any distance. Usually up at 6000-8000 MSL.

Turbo, up a little higher to take advantage of the turbo, but usually not into the oxygen altitudes. So, 9000-12000 MSL.

Pressurized piston, depends almost solely on the wind. 7000 MSL - low FLs.
 
I was a little confused by your question...you are asking about AGL and give your airfield length and then state you fly at 2500 but with no reference to ground. 22500 in Colorado on a hot day may be tough for a small engine whereas near the beach 2500 AGL is close to MSL.
 
I always start out with a planned altitude but that usually changes once airborn.

Temperature, winds, turbulence, clouds, visibility, traffic and how I'm feeling that day usually results in a different altitude than originally planned.
 
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Anywhere between ~1000 AGL (sometimes lower) up to 15,000 ASL.
 
With the terrain and towers below 2700 MSL around here. I find a favorable wind above that and go with it.
 
Like Austin, I’m usually around 1,000’ - 1,500’ AGL if I’m staying local. 5,500’ minimum for a cross-country flight, but that all depends on the terrain I’ll be crossing and the forecasted winds aloft along the route.
 
4500-7500 MSL typically.
That’s usually around 3500-7000 AGL in these parts (IN, IL, OH, MI).

If within 50nm, 3500 MSL.

182.
 
For me it depends on winds aloft, icing, and bumps. If its a clear day with no wind, my normally aspirated arrow is happy at 9,000-11,000' MSL
 
Local- 4500-5500 MSL (cooler air)
XC-7500-8500 MSL. Mountains and TCUs 13500 MSL
Work- 300 AGL up to maybe 8500 MSL.
 
The rule of thumb that I heard is 10 minutes of climb for every hour of cruise. Cruise climb in most of the planes I fly is 500fpm, so for example on a one hour flight I would target 5000AGL and adjust accordingly for terrain, comfort and scenery.
 
jtheune said:
A little background, I fly out of a 2500 foot strip inside the SFRA in a 182. The B space extends about 10 miles from my home airport so I tend to fly low out of there.

So here's the question: What your normal cruise altitude (AGL)? I tend to stay at 2500 or so if I'm going less then 50 miles but the first 10 are mandated. If i'm going on a longer trip then I'll be up between 5,000 and 8,000. I rarely get above 10,000.
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Usually above 13k. Generally like to be about 16-17k if the winds are cooperating. Almost no traffic and fewer calls from ATC.
 
Even for a 50 nm lunch hop, I'll typically go up to 5500' msl, to get above Ontario's airspace and get a break from 100-degree ambient temps at the surface. It also gets me away from a lot of GA traffic, although there's commercial jet traffic to contend with, departing Ontario and flying into John Wayne.

For a longer trip, 9500' to 10,500' is the sweet spot for me.
 
asicer said:
The rule of thumb that I heard is 10 minutes of climb for every hour of cruise. Cruise climb in most of the planes I fly is 500fpm, so for example on a one hour flight I would target 5000AGL and adjust accordingly for terrain, comfort and scenery.
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So if I am flying a airplane for a 4 hour flight I should climb 40 minutes at 500 ft per minute for an altitude of 20,000 ft AGL or the service ceiling in a normally aspirated single engine plane?
 
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Clip4 said:
So if I am flying a airplane for a 4 hour flight I should climb 40 minutes at 500 ft per minute for an altitude of 20,000 ft AGL in a normally aspirated single engine plane?
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You are ignoring where I said:
1. Rule of thumb
2. Adjust accordingly for terrain, comfort and scenery
 
asicer said:
The rule of thumb that I heard is 10 minutes of climb for every hour of cruise. Cruise climb in most of the planes I fly is 500fpm, so for example on a one hour flight I would target 5000AGL and adjust accordingly for terrain, comfort and scenery.
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asicer said:
You are ignoring where I said:
1. Rule of thumb
2. Adjust accordingly for terrain, comfort and scenery
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Still doesn't make sense. It may work only for an hour flight, but anything much more than that and it's just an inaccurate theory.
 
For local flights, as high as I need to be to get safely above terrain and terrain-induced turbulence, but no higher. On longer flights, generally 6000 - 9000 MSL.
 
Between 2500 and 8500 depending on distance and bumps.
 
I’m at 2000 before exiting the pattern on th down wind... that rule doesn’t work for every plane....
 
10500 or 11500 on anything over 100 miles. I don’t want to be in all the traffic at 6500 to 8500.
 
Look at your AFM cruise charts/tables. What altitude gives the best combination of TAS and fuel burn?

Adjust for winds, clouds, turbulence, airspace, etc.
 
800-1000 AGL. Rarely go higher.


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Steven Untet said:
800-1000 AGL. Rarely go higher.


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I was at the local patch today and had a crop duster pull in. He got out and appeared dizzy and almost drunk. I asked him What was the problem.....

He began in a labored voice that he had his Thrush at 2k feet and saw another airplane... possibly a Piper of some sort in the vicinity and it scared him. He arrived from somewhere around 50 miles away and got a little turned around on such a long cross country. He asked if he was still in The United States. When I informed him that he was just a county away from his departure point, he seemed relived to have made it at given the odds against him.

I pointed him towards the waiting spray crew that was expecting him.


I’ve had a similar experiences with transient helo pilots as well....
 
Up on the north slope of Alaska I have been known to cruise just high enough to miss the antlers of the migrating caribou.... I saw a tree once, about 10 miles in front of me and it scared me so bad I climbed up about 50 feet....
 
Zeldman said:
Up on the north slope of Alaska I have been known to cruise just high enough to miss the antlers of the migrating caribou.... I saw a tree once, about 10 miles in front of me and it scared me so bad I climbed up about 50 feet....
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Were you on O2? o_O
 
as with all things aviation....it depends.
 
EdFred said:
as with all things aviation....it depends.
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This. There are too many variables to give a stock answer. Type of flying, type of aircraft, type of terrain, type of local traffic, nearby obstacles, etc are all going to play into local flights. Wind direction and clouds for the higher cruising flights.

For local I guess start with 1000 AGL and +500 above any nearby obstacle and go from there? For cruise as high as you can reasonably go unless there's a good reason(winds aloft, clouds, time to climb, oxygen) not to.
 
Non pressurized, I like 10-12k, winds have to really favor putting on O2 unless crossing the mountains. Little traffic to deal with. Only complaint is being handed off to every approach controller while enroute.

Nice to climb above in the 421
 
Ryanb said:
Still doesn't make sense. It may work only for an hour flight, but anything much more than that and it's just an inaccurate theory.
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Busted. I'm just parroting what I read in a book. Sparky Imeson wrote it in his Mountain Flying Bible, which is where I got it from. And TBH, I do a lot more of #2 than #1.
 
Local flights 1500 to 3000 ft. Airport is 20 feet above sea level..:rolleyes: Longer trips Sitka, Skagway or Ketchikan as high a 9500.
 
3000 msl within 20 miles, then 45/55/65/75 depending on winds. More or less. But ground here is only 200-600 depending on direction, so the AGL changes constantly.
 
Same airspace as the original poster.

Going east, max climb until across the Chesapeake Bay, after getting permission to enter the controlled airspace. Safety comes first, I am always gliding distance from one shore or the other.

Most of my flights were about 3 hours, to a refuel, and unless there was adverse winds, 8 to 10 thousand, especially to the west, for max glide range over the Appalachian Mountains in case of engine problems. Efficiency is better up there, and I reclaim the time to climb with a descent at more than cruise speed.

Up and down the east coast, on the Victor airways, I rarely get a call out of traffic if I stay above 8,000 feet, but at 3 to 5 thousand, they are a persistent issue, and the humidity in the air makes them harder to see. At altitude, the visibility is usually excellent, and above the little puffies, smooth. When I was VFR only, a lot of bouncing under those puffies if they were too thick to allow a climb to higher.

Comments above "Nobody plans a flight in AGL", I do look at the sectional, and plan at least 4,000 feet above the highest MSA from the corners of the grid of the sectional chart. This provides a suitable margin of time to deal with anything that may happen. Altitude above ground is your most valuable insurance, buy it, even if you have a moderate head wind.

PS, I flew mostly Cessna's, including 2 182's, great planes, perfect view for visual navigation.
 
For those who believe a N/A airplane gains in cruise/descent what you lose in the climb, read up on Max Conrad.
 
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