7/19/2019 What is the difference between optimum altitude rec max altitude?

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What if rec max is lower than the optimum level?
What is the cause?
What is the difference between optimum altitude
rec max altitude? What is a crossover altitude?

What is step altitude?

2 Answers What are the differences between pressure

altitude and density altitude? What are their
Bruno Gilissen, Airline pilot. Airbus A330/350; A320 & 340 experience, in 4 airlines. similarities?
Answered Feb 18, 2017 · Author has 547 answers and 5.7m answer views
What is the difference between true altitude and
I’ll answer for the Airbuses, machines of beauty and grace. pressure altitude?

The optimum altitude shows the pilots what level to fly at so they operate the What is the average wind speed at different
flight at the lowest cost, while the rec max altitude shows the pilots which level altitudes?

not to fly above while respecting some safety margins. Both economy and safety What is the difference between "flight level" and
are - as it turns out - desirable for the traveling public. "altitude"?

The optimum level is typically about 2,000 to 4,000 ft lower than the rec max What are the different types of altitude and how
are they measured?
altitude.
What's the difference between altitude and
elevation?

Why does temperature decrease with increase in

altitude?

(A graph from the Airbus A330 to roughly determine the max and optimum altitudes.
On the left: Mach .82 is a typical ballpark speed for the A330. At a weight of 200 ton the
optimum level is around FL370 or 37,000 ft. If the temperature is standard (ISA),The
max altitude is about 2,000 ft higher for a speed of M.82 and about 3,000 ft higher at
long range cruise speed (on the right). Note for later in this answer: lighter weight means
higher optimum and max levels, warmer (ISA + more) means lower, more load factor
margin (n) means lower as well.)

Both rec max and optimum level increase as the flight progresses. The fuel’s
carbohydrates are combined with oxygen from the atmosphere that’s mercilessly
sucked into the engines and this fuel weight is then pumped out at the back of those
power plants, generating the thrust. As the plane gets lighter the longer it’s been
flying, the aerodynamic margins increase and gradually less lift has to be generated to
compensate for a decreasing weight. That allows the plane to fly higher: the rec max
goes up.

At the same time, as the flight progresses, it can benefit from flying higher to increase
the specific range or the mileage per kg of fuel burn.

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(The optimum level where the specific range (SR, horizontal axis) is best, goes up when
the plane gets lighter too. SR increases even if the airliner keeps the same level while
getting lighter, but it will move away from the best achievable SR. And why just accept
good if it can be great?)

(Not flying at the optimum level incurs a fuel penalty. An A330 wastes about a percent of
fuel for flying 2000 ft under the optimum level. An A319 is three times less forgiving,
though of course its bigger cousin burns through more than double per hour. If the good
levels are already occupied by other traffic, deviating more from this sweet spot level
wastes more and more of the airline’s emergency funds.)

Now, to get a bit more technical, if you so desire:

OPTIMUM LEVEL

The optimum level is computed by the flight management computers in the cockpit
and is the most economic or cost effective flight level. It depends on:

Wind: cruise winds for different levels are entered into the flight computers
before the flight starts. Stronger headwinds higher up may bring down the
optimum level, since you’d want less air miles for the same ground miles if
you can. Less headwind or more tailwind is free energy from Mother Nature
that we gladly take if given.

Temperature: a higher temperature at a certain level (constant pressure)

means that the density of the air is less and therefore less kg of air, mixed in
the engines with less kg of fuel, cause less energy to be made available.
(Remember, airplanes actually fly barometric pressures, not true GPS
altitudes.) This performance penalty means that an engine has to work
harder if it gets hotter outside. Better stay a bit lower then to save costs.

Weight: already explained. Lighter means higher optimum level.

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Cost index: when programming the flight, the pilots enter a so called cost
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index into the flight computers. That number represents a compromise
between time savings and fuel savings. Fuel equals costs for an airline but of
course so does time. Number crunchers in the company’s main offices come
up with a figure that is the best balance of the month/week/day/fiscal year
between cost of time and cost of fuel. If they mismanaged the fuel hedging,
the cost index goes down and burning less fuel gets more important, so we’d
want to fly closer to the level that burns the least fuel. If they just gave their
pilots a pay rise in hourly pay, the cost of time goes up and the computer tells
us that we can now better fly a little lower to get there sooner, at the expense
of burning a bit more fuel.

The optimum level is calculated so that it provides a minimum of 5 minutes in the

cruise phase at a minimum of FL100 or 10,000 ft, which is of course only relevant for
the super short flights you can better take the train for. During the flight, the
optimum level is continuously updated in the flight management computer until 5
minutes from the predicted top of descend.

REC MAX

The rec max (recommended maximum) altitude is also computed by the flight
management computers and it’s the lowest of these maximum altitudes:

The max altitude that gives a 0.3 g buffet margin; which gives you
protections against stalling in the coffin corner (where high speed stall and
low speed stall meet). The aircraft can then still safely undergo an
unexpected acceleration - due to turbulence for example - or load factor - due
to banking the plane perhaps - of 0.3 g or about 3 m/s^2 without stalling.
Nobody likes to stall, ask the Air France guys.

The max altitude that allows the aircraft to fly level with max cruise
thrust rating. Available thrust from the engines decreases in a decreasing
pressure, so with an increasing altitude. Less kg of air that can be sucked in
means less umph. At some level the engine’s max cruise rating will be
reached; it’s not desirable to ask more of the engines for such a long time as
the cruise lasts.

The max altitude that allows a climb of 300 feet per minute at max climb
thrust. The lower the pressure, the more the performance of the plane will be
penalized and the high climb rates achievable lower down aren’t doable high
up. At a certain thrust rating, normally to be used in climb only, there’s a
highest level where 300 fpm is still achievable. Fly higher and you’ll be the
laughing stock of other pilots and ATC: you’re someone who may want, but
who isn’t able.

The max altitude that allows the aircraft to fly a speed between green
dot and max operating speed. Green dot is a speed that represents the best
lift to drag ratio. Flying slower than green dot speed is as useless as taking a
British lover: you get less performance, pay more and all the while it takes
you even longer to get there. But green dot speed increases if you fly higher
due to the effect the Mach number and air compressibility have. At some
point green dot will be maxed out.

The max certified level for the aircraft. We may be able to hold down our
alcohol at high altitudes, but we seem to be unable to hold down our oxygen
there. Therefore airliners are pressurized, enabling the lucky passengers and
crew to arrive alive and breathing. God knows it’s the only form of breathing
space you get in economy class. That force exerted by the air inside the plane,
pressing, inflating the vessel, causes structural fatigue and there’s a
maximum level the plane is certified for for this reason. You’re obviously not
going to exceed that, unless your pilots wanted a unique way out.

Anti ice is not taken into account for the computation of this rec max altitude since
icing at levels near rec max is rarely an issue. If you do need it: beware, since it
increases the bleed demand on the engine and your max level may go down suddenly.

The system also computes an altitude that allows a 0.2 g buffet margin, which it
doesn’t display to the pilots, but it uses to limit the cruise altitude entry. Pilots can opt

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7/19/2019 What is the difference between optimum altitude rec max altitude? - Quora

to fly above the 0.3 g margin max RECOMMENDED altitude, but it usually isn’t the
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smartest move and on top of that airline policy may prohibit them from doing so.

(Illustrations source: Airbus publication “Getting to Grips with Fuel Economy”)

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Aidan Jacobus, studied Aviation

Answered Mar 14, 2018

the are levels of elevation in flight.

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