Why Cessna 172 Can’t Fly Higher Than 14,000 Feet

Why Cessna 172 Can’t Fly Higher Than 14,000 Feet === #fligdebrief #cessna #planecrash #aviation === Why Cessna 172 Can’t Fly Higher Than 14,000 Feet Imagine you're flying a Cessna 172 on a clear day. The climb is going well. The engine sounds healthy. The sky above you is completely open. And here's a question that might cross your mind. If the airplane can keep climbing, why doesn't it? Well, technically, higher altitude means less drag, and less drag usually means better efficiency. So why does the Cessna 172 seem to run out of altitude around just 14,000 feet? I mean, airliners can normally cruise at 40,000 feet, even birds can reach somewhere around 30,000 feet, so why can't your Cessna? What's actually holding it back? The answer isn't what most pilots expect. Let’s find out in this episode! Why Cessna 172 Can’t Fly Higher Than 14,000 Feet Quick favor before we begin. Nearly 8 out of every 10 people watching this channel aren't subscribed yet. So if you've learned something from these videos or enjoyed hanging out with us, I'd really appreciate it if you clicked Subscribe. Thank you so much! If Flying Higher Is Better, Why Doesn't The Cessna Keep Climbing? Now, on the surface, that feels a little strange. After all, altitude sounds like a good thing. The higher you go, the thinner the air becomes. Thinner air creates less drag. Less drag means the airplane doesn't have to fight the atmosphere as much. Less resistance generally translates into better efficiency. That's one of the reasons airliners spend so much effort climbing into the upper atmosphere before settling into cruise. There are other benefits too. Visibility improves dramatically. On a clear day, the horizon seems to stretch forever. Weather and turbulence are often less troublesome at higher altitudes. Why Cessna 172 Can’t Fly Higher Than 14,000 Feet And none of those advantages belong exclusively to airliners. A Cessna 172 can benefit from them too. So from a common-sense perspective, climbing higher sounds like a winning strategy. If ten thousand feet is good, wouldn't fifteen thousand be better? If fifteen thousand is better, why not twenty thousand? And if the sky above is completely open, what exactly prevents the airplane from simply continuing upward? The answer isn't hidden inside the cockpit. It isn't hidden in the wings. It begins with the thing surrounding the airplane every second it's in flight. The atmosphere itself.