You can survive quite well over 10k ft, 20k is pushing it though some
have conquered Everest 28k ft with no supplemental oxygen. I have
trekked at 14k+ ft and spent a couple days at 12k+, it is a challenge
but if you are fairly fit you can do it OK, some better than others (the
Quechua basically run marathons at 10k+ in 4 hours or so, up and down
the mountains on the Inca trail, but they are born there and live their
whole lives at high altitude, as do the Sherpas). A bunch of ski
resorts are at 10k+ ft at the top, no problem. My wife has a problem at
altitude but it has never bothered me other than the heavy breathing to
get enough O2.
I think the big problem in a plane is rapid decompression which can
blast your ears really hard, then confusion, then lack of oxygen if you
can't get it quickly enough, plus it is really cold up there if a
windscreen blows out, someone could freeze very quickly if that happens
-- -40F and 400+ kt is not conducive to life.
--R who was once on an Eastern 727 when it depressurized, twice, at not
too high an altitude and had No Fun
On 3/25/15 12:21 PM, Meade Dillon via Mercedes wrote:
At altitudes over 10,000 feet, the air pressure is too low for your lungs
to absorb the oxygen out of it, so you can suffocate (three minutes or
less). If you have the presence of mind, you can "grunt" breath, which is
too use your diaphragm to try to force the air out of your lungs but hold
your breath. This compresses the air in your lungs enough so you can get a
little oxygen, but this is a short term fix and I'm sure it becomes less
effective at higher altitudes.
If the pressurized cabin of the aircraft is compromised, the air pressure
inside the plane drops and then your lungs won't work without help.
In between normal pressure and pressure so low you can't get oxygen, there
are various other nasty things that happen if you are oxygen starved. You
will still be conscious and probably unaware, but your brain loses its
ability to perform. You lose your ability to solve problems and perform
tasks.
-Max with one ride in a high-altitude pressure chamber trainer
On Wed, Mar 25, 2015 at 11:18 AM, Andrew Strasfogel via Mercedes <
mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote:
How does a plane suddnely "lose oxygen"? Where does the O2 come from
anyway?
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