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Article: New to the flight levels? The high teens and low twenties are popular altitudes to fly but come with their own challenges. It's just enough different that you may need this refresher.
- Article from:
- Aviation Safety
- Article date:
- November 1, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 Belvoir Media Group, LLC. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Flying a Baron 58P at Flight Level 250 some time ago, it occurred to me that there is no federal requirement for training in this pressurized, turbocharged twin beyond the Multiengine-Instrument ticket I earned years before in a 150-hp Piper Apache. Later, in unpressurized, turbocharged airplanes I was regularly flying at 20,000 feet using supplemental oxygen, and giving the only checkout new owners of similar airplanes would likely get in flight "up there."
Eventually it came to me that operations near and in the flight levels have several significant and subtle differences from altitudes where most of us fly, differences that can range from nuisance to deadly ...