Why can't they fly higher. Like 50000 feet ??
Commercial and Bizjets have limited ceilings; the Boeing 737-700 has a cruise altitude of 35,000 and a ceiling of about 41,000 feet, and the Cessna CJ3 for example is limited to about 45,000 ft.
I flew in an earlier version of the Cessna from St. Louis to Austin at about 41,000 feet and we flew around a supercell that was producing a tornado at the time west of Oklahoma City. The spiriling cloud tops could be seen pushing through 52,000 feet.
Phil - AC0OB
