Altitude may not sound like an important factor in your air charter experience \u2013 but it can dramatically affect the quality of your flight. Why? The flight level of your aircraft plays a role in the turbulence you experience and any inclement weather conditions you might encounter.<\/p>\n
To gain an understanding of the effects of varying altitude on charter flights, it\u2019s important to grasp the relationship between the Earth\u2019s atmosphere and your aircraft\u2019s location. The planet is separated into five unique atmospheric layers, each filled with gas. The layer closest to the Earth\u2019s surface \u2013 known as the troposphere \u2013 contains the weather. The troposphere starts at the ground and continues to heights of around 6,000 feet in the summer and 42,000 feet in the winter. The majority of private aircraft fly within the troposphere or in the tropopause, which is the thin layer separating the troposphere from the stratosphere. Because the troposphere houses all the planet\u2019s weather, it\u2019s the likeliest spot for private aircraft to encounter inclement weather and turbulence.<\/p>\n
For the most part, turbulence is simply uncomfortable and not threatening. However, if it becomes particularly rough, it may be a danger if passengers are not seated and restrained. Inclement weather, in fact, is more apt to pose a threat. Conditions such as thunderstorms and severe winds can greatly affect a charter flight\u2019s safety. How can aircraft avoid bad weather and turbulence? The best way is to ascend to a higher (and safer) altitude as soon as possible. In many cases, commercial and private jet pilots will climb to a high altitude right after takeoff to avoid the issue. At these higher flight levels, a charter jet stays comfortably above the inclement weather conditions that the troposphere can present.<\/p>\n
However, there is one downside to flying at a high altitude: You need to charter a rather large aircraft. In general, performance of an aircraft lessens as it climbs to a higher altitude \u2013 so turboprop aircraft and light jets simply can\u2019t operate at these heights. Mid-sized and heavy jets like the Gulfstream G550<\/a> are the only options that can ascend to 51,000 feet and stay there. The good news? You can find private aircraft that can ascend to higher altitudes much more quickly. For instance, the Lear 31 light charter jet<\/a> can ascend at an impressive rate of 5,480 feet per minute. If you charter a Learjet or other fast-climbing private jet, you can minimize the time spent being jarred by turbulence and maximize the time spent cruising smoothly. The next time you charter a private jet, consider choosing an aircraft that\u2019s capable of high-altitude cruising. At Stratos Jet Charters, we can help you arrange a flight that\u2019s as safe and comfortable as possible. In fact, our very name was derived from the word \u201cstratosphere\u201d \u2013 and to this day, it represents the type of aircraft we typically charter. Stratos Jet air charter consultants have the experience necessary to organize a flight that meets your particular needs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Altitude may not sound like an important factor in your air charter experience \u2013 but it can dramatically affect the quality of your flight.","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[101,42,129,113,176,111],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stratosjets.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2187"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stratosjets.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stratosjets.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stratosjets.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stratosjets.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2187"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.stratosjets.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2187\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":94369,"href":"https:\/\/www.stratosjets.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2187\/revisions\/94369"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stratosjets.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stratosjets.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stratosjets.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}