bking14ers wrote:Some of these pictures are clearly taken from a small air craft. I was under the impression you had to be on oxygen above 10 or 11 thousand feet.
Great question bking14ers, that is very relevant for small aircraft pilots. Under the Federal Aviation Regulations, the following rules apply for non-pressurized aircraft:
1. If flying above 12,500 ft. up to and including 14,000 ft., supplemental oxygen is requred to be used by the required flight crew (usually only the pilot) for any part of the flight at those altitudes that lasts longer than 30 minutes;
2. If flying above 14,000 ft. the required flight crew has to have and use supplemental oxygen at all times; and
3. If flying above 15,000 ft., each occupant of the airplane must be provided (but not necessarily use) supplemental oxygen.
Now, those are the rules. I can't speak for myself, but I know they are not always followed, especially by pilots who are flying with other pilots and understand their physiological reaction to altitudes at or near those listed above. For example, I know a number of pilots who will fly at 13,000 feet for an hour, or at 14,500 feet, without oxygen. Whether that is a safe practice is not my decision to judge and those pilots I know who do this are not opperating commercial flights. That being said, supplemental oxygen for quick trips in small aircract is not very expensive and some aircraft that have service ceilings higher than these altitudes have built-in oxygen stations.