On a plane after takeoff how high does an airplane get?

Question

does an airplane get to a certain altitude and then start descending

Answer 1

Depends on the flight. Mostly due to the type of airplane and length of trip. A jet will typically need to get high as possible as soon as possible of the trip is long. The reason is that jets use much less fuel as they climb higher. If they were to level off at 10,000 feet to cruise instead of 35,000 feet they probably wouldnt be able to make it to thier destination. Even on short flight a jet will still climb to at least 18,000 feet.

Answer 2

It depends on the flight plan. Typical commercial aircraft fly at approximately 30,000 feet as a cruise altitude. They fly level as planned and prior to reaching their destination start their descent (again as per plans).

PS: Merely reaching top of climb and descending immediately does not make much sense. Climbing uses lots of fuel - better to level off at a lower altitude and descend when required.

Answer 3

Depends on the type of airplane and flight distance. From just above the ground to over 60,000 feet.

As to the descent, it also depends on the type of airplane, the altitude and whether the airplane is on an IFR, (instrument) flight plan, in which case the air traffic controller usually dictates when the airplane begins it's descent, but the pilot is still the final authority and can chose to accept or decline an ATC clearance. It can get complicated.

Anyhow, if a plane is NOT on an IFR flight plan, then the pilot decides when to start/stop climbing or descending.