Like a feather in the wind

The world is NOT flat!!

Pic: Curvature of the earth

Lola and we never really went high. Actually our highest was FL150 (15.000 feet for the non-flying audience) so far, so time to take that wonderful day and check the real, reachable, altitude of our beloved bird. We stopped in FL220 and surely could have gone to FL240 since our vario still showed a moderate 500 ft/min climb rate.

We not only experienced that Lola felt very comfortable but also proofed that the world is not flat!



Here are the facts & figures for my Comanche-friends:

Takeoff weight: 3600 lbs, approx. 125 lbs below MTOW (3725 lbs)

Powersetting: 28'' Manifold Pressure and 2600 RPM, which is the Max Cont. Power Setting according to the POH. I usually climb with those numbers at 130 mph (cruise climb) to keep the CHT below 430 F. That is a wonderful setting and gives you normally a good 1000 ft climb rate and brings you to altitude as fast as possible. Lola went up to FL 200 with exactly that setting. It was -10°C at FL 200, so density altitude was already at 21600 feet. Nice.

From >FL 200 the manifold pressure felt back to 26'' and finally in FL 220 to 24'' at 2600 RPM. It was -15°C up there as shown on the Aspen PFD, so the "real" or density altitude was 23.500 feet.