optimal altitude calculations?

wrote:

this leads me to a very simple question: on a standard day, without
any winds, what would be the optimal altitude for [cruise] speed in a
normally aspirated airplane? is this best altitude dependent on
aircraft to a first-order, or is it fairly constant across airplanes?

It varies from aircraft to aircraft; it's basically the point at which the
engine is putting out 100% rated power at full throttle. It tends to be
somewhere between 6,000' and 9,000'. From memory of the manuals, it's 6,500' for
a Cessna 150J and 8,600' for a Maule MX-7-160.

George Patterson
Give a person a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a person to
use the Internet and he won't bother you for weeks.

George Patterson wrote:

It varies from aircraft to aircraft; it's basically the point at which the
engine is putting out 100% rated power at full throttle. It tends to be
somewhere between 6,000' and 9,000'. From memory of the manuals, it's 6,500' for
a Cessna 150J and 8,600' for a Maule MX-7-160.

Me thinks that full throttle power in the 8000' area is 75%.

Ron Lee

Ron Lee wrote:

Me thinks that full throttle power in the 8000' area is 75%.

You're right - I should have said 75% power at full throttle.

George Patterson
Give a person a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a person to
use the Internet and he won't bother you for weeks.

The Bonaza I just got checked out in Burns 13 gah @ 8500 and will cruize
165 knots. If I go to 17500 it will burn 10 gah and cruize @ 160 knots.
This is by memory so it may not be exact.