Selecting a good en-route cruise altitude for a trip depends on many factors: weather, terrain, distance, aircraft performance, oxygen, airspace, passengers etc.
When I fly longer distances, I prefer to be somewhere in the 6000 to 8000 ft MSL range. (Midwest, ~3 hr trips, normally aspirated Piper Dakota, no oxygen system). Short hop trips, I prefer to be lower, perhaps 4000 to 6000 ft MSL.
Curious, I looked for actual data on aircraft traffic density at altitude, but didn't find that online. (basically expecting to see peak up high for commercial/pressurized/jets and one low for general aviation/piston). I did find one for Japan [1], but not so sure it's very representative for the continental US. Does anyone know of a source of en-route aircraft altitude traffic distribution for the US?
I'm curious as to what others have as a preferred en-route cruising altitude before taking into consideration variable factors such as weather and terrain.
[1] EN-ROUTE ALTITUDE DISTRIBUTION - MLIT Japan
When I fly longer distances, I prefer to be somewhere in the 6000 to 8000 ft MSL range. (Midwest, ~3 hr trips, normally aspirated Piper Dakota, no oxygen system). Short hop trips, I prefer to be lower, perhaps 4000 to 6000 ft MSL.
Curious, I looked for actual data on aircraft traffic density at altitude, but didn't find that online. (basically expecting to see peak up high for commercial/pressurized/jets and one low for general aviation/piston). I did find one for Japan [1], but not so sure it's very representative for the continental US. Does anyone know of a source of en-route aircraft altitude traffic distribution for the US?
I'm curious as to what others have as a preferred en-route cruising altitude before taking into consideration variable factors such as weather and terrain.
[1] EN-ROUTE ALTITUDE DISTRIBUTION - MLIT Japan
