What happens to performance as altitude increases?

As altitude increases, airplane performance generally decreases due to several important factors. Primarily, the air density diminishes with altitude. This lower air density affects various aspects of performance.

1. Lift: Lift is generated based on the interaction between the airfoil and the surrounding air. As air density decreases, the amount of lift produced by the wings diminishes unless the aircraft’s speed increases or other factors are adjusted, such as increasing the angle of attack or utilizing a larger wing area.

2. Engine Performance: Most engines, particularly piston engines, rely on the intake of oxygen for combustion. As altitude increases, the amount of oxygen available for fuel combustion decreases, leading to a reduction in engine power. Turbocharged engines can mitigate this effect to some extent, but they still experience some performance loss compared to sea-level operation.

3. Propeller Efficiency: For propeller-driven aircraft, thrust generation also suffers as the density of the air decreases, which can further impact climb rates and overall performance.

4. Drag: Induced drag typically decreases with altitude because it is influenced by the square of the airspeed, but the effects of reduced lift and thrust outweigh any benefits from decreased drag at higher altitudes.

Overall