Service Ceiling
What is service ceiling?
The service ceiling is the highest altitude at which an aircraft can still climb at a useful rate—specifically 100 feet per minute. The FAA defines it as the maximum density altitude where flying at the best rate-of-climb airspeed produces a 100-foot-per-minute climb at maximum weight, in a clean configuration, with maximum continuous power. Think of it as the practical "top of the climb" limit, not the absolute ceiling (where climb performance drops to zero).
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