Why 30000 feet

This also explains why you feel the plane slowing down during landing. In most cases, these planes use a piston-powered engine, which operates similarly to the engine in your car and with power that only allows for shorter flights, according to the National Business Aviation Association. This type of engine prevents these smaller planes from reaching the same altitudes as commercial aircraft. Pilots also refrain from flying these types of planes at greater heights because of potential health risks like hypoxia, which is when tissues do not receive enough oxygen, according to the National Institutes of Health.

That lack of oxygen can occur at higher altitudes due to a decrease in oxygen pressure, according to the FAA. As the plane ascends, the level of oxygen decreases, which can cause rapid decompression for an aircraft that is not pressurized in the same way as a commercial airplane.

What about helicopters? Choppers are mainly designed to fly short distances and typically fly much lower than airplanes, normally at under 10, feet. They are also unable to ascend to the same height an airplane can because instead of wings, helicopters fly by rotating blades. Birds are most likely to obstruct planes at lower altitudes, and can present problems during takeoff and landing. Christopher Schaberg March 25, share. Courtesy the artist. Read the rest here. The phrase is meant to convey authority, but it is also a plea for trust.

Believe me, I can see more than you — so do as I say. Whereas those poets sought something like a sublime togetherness with nature, the 30,foot view is more narrowly about the human sphere. Neither is it the carceral viewpoint of the Panopticon, as articulated by Bentham and later famously adopted by Foucault.

And nor is this view drawn from military drones, delivering death from above, or satellites, despite their centrality to global information systems. If you look up in the sky, chances are that a set of contrails will soon come into view.

While these sights may amaze the neophyte air traveler, the window-seat view soon becomes routine — and yet it still manages to conserve its power in metaphor. Bad: there are also fewer oxygen molecules to combust with fuel, so less power is generated. Higher altitudes also require a longer climb, which in turn means the airplane burns more fuel to reach its cruising altitude. So what the pilot wants is to find the sweet spot where he or she's flying as fast as possible, but burning the least amount of fuel.

Ideal altitudes are based on the aircraft, its weight, and the current atmospheric conditions. For most airliners, that's between 30,ft and 40,ft. Including the flight's direction, turbulence, and flight duration. Clear-air turbulence CAT affects altitude, as well. Pilots report any turbulence they encounter, and Air Traffic Control ATC uses that information to steer other planes above or below it. Finally, longer flights benefit from flying at higher altitudes; the thinner air reduces drag, increases engine efficiency, and saves fuel.