MBA: Maximum operating altitude: 10,000 feet?

stevehp · Jan 17, 2008, 01:44 PM

What's up with this?

How does Apple expect us to use an MBA on an airplane?

killmoms · Jan 17, 2008, 01:45 PM

Airplanes are pressurized to around sea-level, so it doesn't matter.

WildCowboy · Jan 17, 2008, 01:45 PM

Airplanes are pressurized to ~8000 feet, so you'll be fine.

gauchogolfer · Jan 17, 2008, 01:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevehp

What's up with this?

How does Apple expect us to use an MBA on an airplane?

Airplane cabins are pressurized...

edit: too slow wit teh Spy™

adrianblaine · Jan 17, 2008, 01:47 PM

It's called cabin pressure.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabin_pressure

You don't think we'd be flying at 30,000 ft. and be ok do you? People die at those altitudes.

Ryox · Jan 17, 2008, 01:47 PM

Err... yeah... I thought the main group of people who were going to buy the MBA were people who fly a lot... :S This makes it useless for those kinda people doesn't it?

IJ Reilly · Jan 17, 2008, 01:47 PM

The cabin atmospheric pressure in an airliner is 8,000 feet.

killmoms · Jan 17, 2008, 01:47 PM

WELL GUYS, I'M GLAD WE WERE ALL ON TOP OF THAT ONE. GOOD WORK.

<3 spy.macrumors.com

EDIT: Interesting, I didn't know it was 8000 feet in an airplane. I guess it would take more work to keep it closer to sea-level pressure. Does that mean they have to use high-altitude baking directions?

TimJim · Jan 17, 2008, 01:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryox

Err... yeah... I thought the main group of people who were going to buy the MBA were people who fly a lot... :S This makes it useless for those kinda people doesn't it?

Read some other posts around you.

stevehp · Jan 17, 2008, 01:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by killmoms

Airplanes are pressurized to around sea-level, so it doesn't matter.

Oh, hahah...I feel like an idiot now!!!

I guess I couldn't use it on Everest's peak.

IJ Reilly · Jan 17, 2008, 01:49 PM

So the question is, above 10,000 feet does the "Air" get thinner?

gauchogolfer · Jan 17, 2008, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IJ Reilly

So the question is, above 10,000 feet does the "Air" get thinner?

It probably gets thicker, since there is slightly lower gravity...

waterskier2007 · Jan 17, 2008, 01:51 PM

every product they make (that im aware of) has a operating altitude of 10,000

Ryox · Jan 17, 2008, 01:51 PM

hey, you learn something new every day lol

WildCowboy · Jan 17, 2008, 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by killmoms

Interesting, I didn't know it was 8000 feet in an airplane. I guess it would take more work to keep it closer to sea-level pressure.

Not necessarily more work, but the increased pressure differential (particularly at the highest altitudes) puts more stress on the airplane. The new carbon fiber planes are able to push this further: the 787 will be pressurized to 6,000 feet, while the A350 may go to 5,000, increasing passenger comfort.

AirmanPika · Jan 17, 2008, 03:03 PM

The 80GB Samsung hard drive in the air is Rated to 3000 meters operating which is just under 10k feet so I bet you thats the primary reason for the restriction.

adrianblaine · Jan 17, 2008, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WildCowboy

Not necessarily more work, but the increased pressure differential (particularly at the highest altitudes) puts more stress on the airplane. The new carbon fiber planes are able to push this further: the 787 will be pressurized to 6,000 feet, while the A350 may go to 5,000, increasing passenger comfort.

It also depends on where you are getting off the plane. I once was on a flight to Santa Cruz, Bolivia with a stop in La Paz. It was the first time I got winded after they opened the door just switching seats. For flights to places like that, I wouldn't want to go from 5 or 6,000 ft. to 11,000 ft. instantanously.

clayj · Jan 17, 2008, 03:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AirmanPika

The 80GB Samsung hard drive in the air is Rated to 3000 meters operating which is just under 10k feet so I bet you thats the primary reason for the restriction.

If I remember correctly, the altitude restriction for devices that contain hard drives has to do with the aerodynamics of multikilo-RPM spinning platters functioning a little differently in thinner air. Since virtually no one (or at least a very, very small percentage of people) lives or works above 10K feet, that's what the hard drive designers design to. If they built all hard drives to work as high as, say, 30K feet, the design would have to be slightly different (to accommodate the greater variation in atmospheric pressure) and hard drives would probably be slightly larger and/or more expensive to build.

I would imagine that the SSD-equipped MBA does not have this restriction... although I do know that some screen technologies (plasma, mostly) also have altitude restrictions because the gas-filled elements may behave differently under lower atmospheric pressure.

///alpinepower · Jan 17, 2008, 05:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevehp

What's up with this?

How does Apple expect us to use an MBA on an airplane?

lol. i can't tell if you're joking, but the reason air marshal bullets make the whole airplane explode is the interior is pressurized.

gothamm · Jan 17, 2008, 05:40 PM

macbook air....oh the irony

JasonBourne9 · Jan 17, 2008, 06:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WildCowboy

Not necessarily more work, but the increased pressure differential (particularly at the highest altitudes) puts more stress on the airplane. The new carbon fiber planes are able to push this further: the 787 will be pressurized to 6,000 feet, while the A350 may go to 5,000, increasing passenger comfort.

...and as an interesting side note: the nice bizjets (e.g., Gulfstream G5) fly higher (up to 51,000ft vs. the high 30s that airliners typically fly in) but maintain a lower cabin altitude (typically 6,000ft). That + lower noise + comfier seats/beds makes flying first class commercial feel like a painful way to fly.

EvryDayImShufln · Jan 17, 2008, 06:25 PM

Another cool plane will be the boeing dreamliner, apparently it will be pressurized to a be equivalent to a somewhat lower level.

88MVP · Jan 17, 2008, 06:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ///alpinepower

lol. i can't tell if you're joking, but the reason air marshal bullets make the whole airplane explode is the interior is pressurized.

I'm not sure if you're joking,

but bullets won't make an airplane explode. This is a movie myth. Mythbusters actually did an episode where they debunked this.

adrianblaine · Jan 17, 2008, 06:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ///alpinepower

lol. i can't tell if you're joking, but the reason air marshal bullets make the whole airplane explode is the interior is pressurized.

And I can't tell if you are joking. Piercing an airplane window or skin with a bullet does not make the whole airplane explode. Very little happens actually except for loosing cabin pressure. Oh Hollywood, your entertainment is fun to watch, but so misleading!

EDIT: LOL, great minds think alike... I was actually thinking of the exact same episode, but I typed too slow...

e12a · Jan 17, 2008, 06:48 PM

10,000 ft. is hardly high. Mammoth Mountain is 11,059 ft.

So i've skiied higher than the maximum operating altitude.

Jan 17, 2008, 01:44 PM	#1
stevehp macrumors 6502 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: It's not a house, it's a home.	MBA: Maximum operating altitude: 10,000 feet? What's up with this? How does Apple expect us to use an MBA on an airplane? __________________ 15" Unibody MBP/2.66GHZ/320GB HD/4GB RAM 24" Apple LED Cinema Display 32GB iPhone 3G S 16GB WiFi iPad
	0

Jan 17, 2008, 01:45 PM	#2
killmoms macrumors 68040 Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Washington, DC	Airplanes are pressurized to around sea-level, so it doesn't matter. __________________ thrillmoms.com - You know it. Welcome to the family… Mugi: 15" Retina MBP, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD Sakaki: 27" iMac Mid-2010, Haruhi: 16GB iPhone 4, Nagato: 32GB iPad LTE
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Jan 17, 2008, 01:45 PM	#3
WildCowboy macrumors god Join Date: Jan 2005	Airplanes are pressurized to ~8000 feet, so you'll be fine. __________________ Editor in Chief, MacRumors
	0

Jan 17, 2008, 01:47 PM	#5
adrianblaine macrumors 65816 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Pasadena, CA	It's called cabin pressure. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabin_pressure You don't think we'd be flying at 30,000 ft. and be ok do you? People die at those altitudes. __________________ “Maybe we can show government how to operate better as a result of better architecture” ~Frank Lloyd Wright
	0

Jan 17, 2008, 01:47 PM	#6
Ryox macrumors 6502 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: UK	Err... yeah... I thought the main group of people who were going to buy the MBA were people who fly a lot... :S This makes it useless for those kinda people doesn't it? __________________ iMac 27" (Late 2012)/3.4GHz Quad-core Core i7/8GB RAM/NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680MX 2GB/768GB SSD iPhone 4S 64GB White
	0

Jan 17, 2008, 01:47 PM	#7
IJ Reilly macrumors G5 Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Palookaville	The cabin atmospheric pressure in an airliner is 8,000 feet. __________________ **The season starts too early and finishes too late and there are too many games in between.* Bill Veeck
	0

Jan 17, 2008, 01:49 PM	#11
IJ Reilly macrumors G5 Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Palookaville	So the question is, above 10,000 feet does the "Air" get thinner? __________________ **The season starts too early and finishes too late and there are too many games in between.* Bill Veeck
	0

Jan 17, 2008, 01:51 PM	#13
waterskier2007 macrumors 65816 Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: White Lake, MI	every product they make (that im aware of) has a operating altitude of 10,000 __________________ 2012 Mac Mini, 2.6 GHz, 16GB RAM, 1TB HDD 2.4Ghz 15" Macbook Pro 32 GB iPhone 4S : 16 GB iPod nano : 16 GB iPad 3 Nikon D60 : 18-55 mm VR : 55-200 mm VR
	0

Jan 17, 2008, 03:03 PM	#16
AirmanPika macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Alexandria, VA	The 80GB Samsung hard drive in the air is Rated to 3000 meters operating which is just under 10k feet so I bet you thats the primary reason for the restriction.
	0

Jan 17, 2008, 05:40 PM	#20
gothamm macrumors 6502a Join Date: Nov 2007	macbook air....oh the irony
	0

Jan 17, 2008, 06:25 PM	#22
EvryDayImShufln macrumors 65816 Join Date: Sep 2006	Another cool plane will be the boeing dreamliner, apparently it will be pressurized to a be equivalent to a somewhat lower level.
	0

Jan 17, 2008, 06:48 PM	#25
e12a macrumors 68000 Join Date: Oct 2006	10,000 ft. is hardly high. Mammoth Mountain is 11,059 ft. So i've skiied higher than the maximum operating altitude. __________________ [inquiring about MBP types]"we either have the regular, or the ultimate edition." -Apple sales rep "could you just tell me the specs?"
	0

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