How high can a Helicopter safely fly?

Question

And how high can commercial airliners fly?

Answer 1

I don't know where the other answerer came up with it, but I've been flying for four years, trained with a rotary wing instructor, and never heard of what he's saying.

A helicopter is an aircraft - it just has a wing that moves. That's the term 'Rotary Wing Aircraft'.  To answer your question, a helicopter can fly based on its ability to achieve the lift it needs. Each aircraft will be different.  As for fixed wing aircraft, I've seen some that fly up to 10,000 feet, some 20,000 and some up to 28,000, for single engine planes (General Aviation).  So, I'd think helicopters are similar - some will be able to fly higher than others. But, it's based on the particular model.

And I've seen helicopters that can fly up to 200 knots. They aren't the majority, but they exist.  Personally, I'd love to fly a high performance rotary wing aircraft.

Commercial aircraft are generally jet propulsion, which means they can fly at higher altitudes, where the air is much thinner.  Generally, I'd say up to 40,000 feet, aka Angels 40.

Answer 2

Your question maybe, how high can rotorcraft "operate".  Operating includes takeoff and landing.  The ability for a helicopter to operate depends on whether it can hover in ground effect (HIGE) and hover outside of ground effect (HOGE).  It must be able to hover or it cannot "operate" within all its design capabilities.  For instance, here in Alaska helicopters are often used to pick up stranded or injured climbers from Mount McKinley which is 20,320 feet high.  Helicopters cannot operate within HIGE or HOGE at that altitude so they are limited to landing and taking off at a much lower altitude on the mountain.  Some helicopters can maintain straight and level flight at altitudes close to that of McKinley's height but are severely limited in many of their  design "operating"  characteristics, that affect operating weight, aircraft stability and maneuverability.

Answer 3

it is common for airspace authorities to deconflict slow-moving helicopters from high-speed fixed-wing aircraft via altitude “blocks,” with helicopters staying below a certain altitude and fixed-wing aircraft staying above that altitude, generally about 3,000 feet above the ground.