The most fuel efficient profile any jet can fly on a cross-country trip would be to climb at its maximum rate all the way to cruising altitude, level off and pull back to cruise power, and stay there until the precise moment the engines can be pulled to idle and descend to a landing.ĭue to traffic and passenger comfort, the airliners don’t fly that maximum efficiency profile, but they try to get close.Īnd that’s why it seems to you that jet airliners climb “relatively steep,” but trust me, they do not fly steep. Jet aircraft are most efficient at high altitudes. Now that’s what I call a “steep” takeoff.īUT AIRLINERS DON’T HANG AROUND AT LOW ALTITUDE That whole process-from dead-stop on the runway to 30,00 feet-took 62 seconds in 10849 and here’s a photo taken that day, like a scalded angel trying to get back to heaven.

The climb record must be measured from the moment the aircraft first moves on the runway, all the way through takeoff, gear up, and then start climbing.

The records were set in meters, and they ticked off a bunch of them, but the easy one to remember is the climb to 9,000 meters because that’s 30,000 feet.

So steep download