bdl writes:

Why is the service ceiling of a 172 set so low then?

Because it cannot climb in any useful way above a certain altitude,
and it's not a high-performance aircraft.

Is it your contention that if a B-29 dropped a 172 (i.e. "slew") from FL300 it
would continue to fly?

I don't really know. I think it probably would, but it would be
pretty unstable.

That its engine would somehow magically find enough oxygen to feed the
normally aspirated engine?

It doesn't need an engine to fly.

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