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3 Answers

What is Absolute ceiling?

Asked by: 10858 views Aerodynamics, General Aviation, Student Pilot

What is absolute ceiling and service ceiling? Are there any difference between the two? Does it apply to both single engine and multi engine?

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3 Answers



  1. Russ Roslewski on May 30, 2016

    Wikipedia has a pretty good, short article that should answer your questions.

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceiling_(aeronautics)

    One of the references is the Pilots Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, page 10-7, which has a good discussion as well.

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  2. Michael Smith on May 30, 2016

    Absolute ceiling is the maximum height above sea level that an aircraft can maintain level flight.

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  3. Skyfox on Jun 02, 2016

    Absolute ceiling is the maximum altitude the aircraft can fly at max throttle while maintaining level altitude and constant airspeed. That would assume the most ideal mixture setting, prop setting (for a constant speed prop), and clean configuration.

    Service ceiling is the ceiling at and above which the aircraft can no longer maintain at least 100 FPM of climb with those ideal settings as mentioned above.

    Since these ceilings likely refer to standard atmosphere, in a nonstandard atmosphere they probably translate to a density altitude.

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