How high can a helicopter fly?

This record was set by French test pilot Jean Boulet, who achieved this with an Aerospatiale SA 315B Lama on June 21, 1972. In reality though, the record high altitude for a helicopter was broken on 23 Mar 2002 in a modified Squirrel AS350B2 to 12954 m. (42,500 ft).

Helicopters also have two hover altitude stats called In Ground Effect (IGE) and Out of Ground Effect (OGE). This relates to the elevation level it can reach when it is (or is not) affected by the “ground effect”. The ground effect refers to the added lifting power when a helicopter is near to the ground, which is caused by the air hitting the ground. These metrics are especially useful for operations in mountainous areas, because even though the altitude might be high, there is still a close proximity to the ground, which ads to the helicopter’s hovering capacity.

How high can an average helicopter fly ?
The maximum height is likely about 8,000 feet for most helicopters. Higher elevations cause various issues for helicopters, including:
1. The cabins are generally not pressurized – flight over about 10,000 feet would leave many passengers and pilots with altitude sickness.
2. The rotors create aerodynamic lift based on the density of the air – air is less dense at great heights, so they effectively cease working (at some stage).
3. The engines aren’t designed to operate in very low oxygen environments.

Military helicopters can fly higher, notably with no or light loads.

Why can’t a helicopter fly higher?
There isn’t going to be a set altitude that a helicopter can get to. There are numerous charts in chopper operation planning guides that enable pilots to figure out a maximum elevation. This altitude will be a function of aircraft gross weight, Mean Sea Level elevation and temperature. Engines and Rotor systems are less efficient at higher temperatures/elevation and they have work harder when the aircraft weighs more. Temperature and Altitude factored collectively gives density altitude to you. The service ceilings of most aircraft are based on density altitude.

Second there are several maximum elevations a helicopter pilot will be concerned with. The maximum altitude for level flight, the maximum for an in ground effect (IGE) hover and the maximum for an out of ground effect (OGE) hover. An IGE hover is one close to the ground usually 3-10 feet demanding on aircraft type and OGE hover needs more power and is 1.5 times the aircraft’s rotor diameter or greater above the ground. As you go between the two more power is demanded. The power required for each of these changes for weight and density altitude. For level flight airspeed is also going to be a variable, all aircraft of a ‘bucket’ airspeed at the bottom of the drag curve where they are most efficient. A wise pilot will figure these numbers out so they don’t get into trouble before they get into that phase of flight.