Question

Suppose that at 12Z 27 OCT 2016 you board an airplane and fly non-stop directly from Tucson, the southern-most station in Arizona, to Caribou, the northern-most station in Maine. En route, the plane cruises along the 500-mb surface. Flying from Tucson to Caribou, the aircraft's actual cruising altitude ________.

a) Decreases
b) Increases
c) Remains constant
d) Fluctuates

Answer 1

The aircraft's actual cruising altitude remains constant when flying along the 500-mb surface.

Step-by-step explanation:

The aircraft's actual cruising altitude remains constant when flying from Tucson to Caribou along the 500-mb surface. The 500-mb surface is a level in the atmosphere where the atmospheric pressure is half of the surface pressure. This level is also known as the mid-tropospheric level and is generally located around 5500-6000 meters above sea level. Therefore, regardless of the distance traveled, the aircraft will maintain a constant altitude along this level.