How high have you flown non pressurized plane

I've had the 68 Cardinal, fixed gear 150 hourse with fixed prop to 14,000. After installing a new fuel flow and dinking with all the hoses it just seemed like the thing to do.
 
FL180 to get over weather over north-central Colorado. Had to concentrate on breathing to maintain satisfactory O2 sat. The cannulae just doesn't work very well for me at that altitude. ATC quickly accommodated my request for a clearance when I said that I'd either have to climb or turn around to remain in VMC.
 
15,500 in an R182 without oxygen. Just wanted to see what the effects of hypoxia are. I was not PF and it's a good thing. I was a bit wobbly on getting out of the plane. Ten minutes later I was back to my normal stupid self. :goofy: BTW, I smoke.
 
Just over 10,000' in the 172N. Plane still had plenty of climb performance left but that was as high as I felt comfortable without O2.
 
13,000 in a C-182A.
10,500 in a LSA. I could've gone higher easily - the Rotax had me still climbing about 800 FPM.
 
23,000 in my naturally aspirated experimental during testings..
 
13,500' in my DA20, routinely fly at 11,500' and 12,500', just wanted to touch thirteen, now I'm on a mission for find an oxygen tank and see how high I can get it.
 
Took my Cherokee 160 up to 11,500. Would have gone higher but I was afraid of getting lightheaded.
 
Believe the highest I have gone in my buggy was 13,500.
 
Can't say as though I've been over 7,500. Not much reason to in the fly-over states and climbing for no reason is needlessly-expensive when it's a rental.
 
12,500 in both the C150 and Bonanza. OX is on my wish list, right along with AOA and GPSS .... but I keep spending all my money on avgas
 
Like several of the others: 18,000 because I didn't care to get a clearance. O2 had me feeling fine and the Maule was still climbing at about 300ft/min.
 
rwellner98 said:
Like several of the others: 18,000 because I didn't care to get a clearance. O2 had me feeling fine and the Maule was still climbing at about 300ft/min.
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FL180 is Class A airspace (PCA), required to have a clearance. You bad boy :nono:
 
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13,000; but then the buzz in my head said, "copy down what you are seeing for ground speed [212 kts in a 182] and then get down because you are getting loopy. You aren't as young as you used to be"
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
10,500

I get real uncomfortable above 5-6k
I just feel more comfortable at lower altitudes.
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Don't like all that extra time time for deciding whether or not to pull the chute on the way down in case of a power failure? :D

16,000 in a Comanche, but a lot of that of that was at "lower altitudes" if one considers a lot of terrain was only 2,000-4,000 feet below.
 
FL200 in a 206. If I'm flying a turbo non-pressurized plane I will typically fly at the max without needing oxygen so 12500. The altitude doesn't bother me and I like the extra comfort of the extra altitude in case something goes wrong. It gives me more options to decide where to put down.
 
11,500 in a Cessna 150. I try to keep my summer-only Great Lakes crossing with as much altitude as possible, to give me more "gliding mayday" time...
 

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Ted DuPuis said:
Same for me with the 310 I fly.

In both cases, 310s were naturally aspirated.
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I routinely fly the Aztec (also naturally aspirated) at 10k to 12k. I like the lack of other traffic at those altitudes. Last year I instituted a personal rule to be on O2 above 9k.

Have had it up to 15,500 but it took a while to get there and that fat wing didn't seem to much like it.
 
I have done 21,500 in my glider, and have an ATC Waiver to go to FL28 if I can get the weather conditions to cooperate.

I cruise at 17,800 pretty regularly.

The flight shown in the link below was within 1/2mph of setting a state speed record for my category of glider. Actually the only reason I didn't get the record is my friend flew almost the same course the same day and beat me. He claimed the 300km speed record and let me claim the 200km speed record (since my flight was in excess of 200km)
http://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-2.0/gliding/flightinfo.html?flightId=-249957860



Brian
CFIIG/ASEL
 
CCluck said:
12,500 in both the C150 and Bonanza. OX is on my wish list, right along with AOA and GPSS .... but I keep spending all my money on avgas
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You and Tim should both get some sort of persistence prize for nursing a C150 up to those altitudes :yes:

I learned to fly in a C150 in the summer of 1974. When I started to fly solo I used to take it up to 7k-8k and see how many turns I could spin it - we were all immortal when we were that young, right? It seemed to take forever to get to altitude though, and I would barely get 4 of those in before my 1 hour rental slot was done.
 
GRG55 said:
You and Tim should both get some sort of persistence prize for nursing a C150 up to those altitudes :yes:
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It takes awhile for sure...my 150 has a cruise prop, so I only get about 500 fpm AT SEA LEVEL!!!
 
GRG55 said:
I routinely fly the Aztec (also naturally aspirated) at 10k to 12k. I like the lack of other traffic at those altitudes. Last year I instituted a personal rule to be on O2 above 9k.

Have had it up to 15,500 but it took a while to get there and that fat wing didn't seem to much like it.
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Yeah, the Aztec did not like going high. Fat wing, poor cooling...

Realized I had a T310R up to FL200. That wasn't really fun. Should've stuck to 180.
 
10,000 or so in a Cessna 120 - Denali from 200 miles away...
115%252520MCKinley_200_Miles_Away.jpg


Now, under light and sporty rules, either 8500 or 9500 is as high as I have been.
 
I've never used an oxygen system, so 12,000'. I regularly cruise from 8,000-11,000' depending upon the weather.
 
About 11,500 in the Cherokee. 14,505 on foot (Mt. Whitney). Just about that high on foot on the Jungfrau.
 
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