Critical altitude

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Critical altitude is the altitude above which the turbocharging (or supercharging) system can no longer maintain sea level power. A turbocharger compresses the air fed to the engine to (or above) sea level pressure, thus allowing the engine to maintain full power, rather than losing power as it climbs. But system limitations mean that there is only so much compression available, and when the air gets thin enough, there's not enough compression to maintain sea level pressure.

Typically the critical altitude is in the neighborhood of 15,000 to 20,000 feet, though there are some that go higher and some that are lower.

For more on the various altitude terms used in aviation, you can also see the Wikipedia altitude page.

See also the supercharger page on Wikipedia.

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