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Aviation glossary

Climb

Also: climb-out, initial climb, top of climb, step climb

Operations and flight

The phase in which an aircraft gains height after take-off up to its cruising level, following a published departure route and the levels cleared by ATC.

What it is

After take-off the aircraft climbs in stages: it retracts the landing gear, reduces from take-off to climb thrust at a set height, often between 1,000 and 1,500 feet above the airport, and retracts flaps and slats as it accelerates. The departure usually follows a published standard instrument departure, or SID, which keeps traffic orderly and avoids obstacles and noise-sensitive areas.

In much of the world's airspace speed is limited to 250 knots below 10,000 feet. Above that the aircraft accelerates to its climb speed and, higher up, holds a constant Mach number. As it climbs, the thinner air reduces the thrust available and the rate of climb falls away.

A single-aisle jet typically takes around 20 minutes to reach about 35,000 feet (roughly 10,700 metres). On long flights it then step-climbs as it burns fuel and becomes lighter, since it flies more efficiently higher up.

Related terms

Take-offThe phase in which an aircraft accelerates along the runway to rotation speed, raises its nose and climbs away to a safe height above any obstacles. CruiseThe central and usually longest phase of a flight, in which the aircraft flies level at its most efficient height and speed between the climb and the descent. Flight levelAn altitude expressed in hundreds of feet and referenced to the standard pressure of 1013.25 hPa, giving aircraft at height a shared vertical reference. Service ceilingHighest altitude at which an aircraft can operate normally, set either by its ability to keep climbing or by the limit fixed in its certification. Mach numberRatio of an aircraft's speed through the air to the speed of sound in that air; Mach 1 means flying at exactly the speed of sound.
Whole glossary

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This page was last updated on October 9, 2026

APA

Vuelopedia. (2026, October 9). Climb. Retrieved October 16, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/climb

MLA

“Climb.” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 9 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/climb. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Vuelopedia. “Climb.” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 9, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/climb.

Harvard

Vuelopedia (2026) Climb. Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/climb (Accessed: 16 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{vuelopedia_en_glossary_climb,
  author       = {{Vuelopedia}},
  title        = {{Climb}},
  publisher    = {Fundación Poderia},
  year         = {2026},
  date         = {2026-10-09},
  url          = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/climb},
  howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/climb}},
  urldate      = {2026-10-16},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-10-16}
}

Wikipedia

{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/climb |title=Climb |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-09 |access-date=2026-10-16 |language=en}}

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