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In the Jakarta incident, the pilot descended 6000 feet because the copilot's oxygen mask had a problem. Was this a wise thing to do? What does the physics sa
by amichail 17y ago
In the Jakarta incident, the pilot descended 6000 feet because the copilot's oxygen mask had a problem.
Was this a wise thing to do? What does the physics say?
- ars 17y agoYes. The physics says there is more air lower down. I don't really understand your question. Are you wondering if maybe staying high is better because you can fly longer? That's true, although I assume as they went down they gained in speed, which also lets them fly longer.
- rubyrescue 17y agoall things being equal though if you have to descend faster than 'best glide speed' the speed gain isn't worth the altitude loss. but not passing out due to oxygen deprivation is...
- hugh3 17y agoWhat about for the purposes of restarting the engines?
- kjhgbnmm 17y agoLower is better, max height for a restart depends on the engine but is 20,000-30,000 ft
- whimsy 17y agoI assume there is a front-loaded initial startup cost of oxygen to initiate combustion that is difficult to do at higher altitudes primarily because the turbines are not spinning (and therefore aren't pulling oxygen into the engines). Air speed might make it easier to get the turbines up to speed again, but I would make an uneducated guess that the oxygen concentration of the surrounding atmosphere is more important; I think it's likely the engines will contribute much more to turbine rotation than air speed. Moreover, the engines won't come up to full power instantly; they will need time to throttle up as well... in this case, glide time is more important than air speed. Ergo, the altitude is more important for the purposes of restarting the engines. (... Except for the "tangential" need that the operator needs to be conscious to restart the engines, and thus needs sufficient oxygen concentrations in the cabin)