When a plane loses altitude, or comes closer to the earth’s surface, the air pressure increases, and the aneroids contract. The movement of the aneroids is transferred to hands, like those on a clock, on the altimeter gauge.
http://traveltips.usatoday.com/altitude-plane-flight-100359.html
The X-15 holds both speed and altitude records. It was 15.24 meters long and had a 6.7-meter wingspan. The X-15 was developed specifically to conduct research in the fields of aerodynamics and aspects of high-speed and high-altitude flight. It made 199 flights between 1959 and 1968. William Knight holds the record for achieving the fastest speed achieved by an aircraft: Mach 6.7 (6.7 times faster than the speed of sound or 2020 m/s). On August 22, 1963, Joseph A. Walker achieved the highest altitude ever gained by an airplane: 107,900 m (354,200 feet).
http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2001/DanaWollman.shtml
Planes equipped with jet engines fly at greater altitudes than propeller-driven aircraft. These include commercial flights, cargo jets and even private passenger jets. The air traffic control tower usually assigns a cruising altitude of up to 39,000 feet, but long flights are typically assigned higher altitudes. By keeping these planes at assigned altitudes, air traffic control creates invisible stacked highways in the sky, keeping enough air space between the flights.
http://traveltips.usatoday.com/altitude-plane-flight-100359.html
Highest flight by a hot air balloon. Dr Vijaypat Singhania (India) achieved the altitude record of 21,027 m (68,986 ft) in a Cameron Z-1600 hot-air balloon over Mumbai, India on 26 November 2005. All records listed on our website are current and up-to-date. For a full list of record titles, please use our Record Application Search.
http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/highest-flight-by-a-hot-air-balloon/
When flying a plane, the pilot needs to know exactly how high above the earth the plane is traveling, a measurement that is called altitude. A pilot keeps track of altitude to ensure the plane is flying high enough to clear any topographical features that are below the flight path. Altitude is also monitored by air traffic controllers to ensure that the planes don’t pass too closely to each other while in flight.
http://traveltips.usatoday.com/altitude-plane-flight-100359.html
The highest altitude obtained in an unpowered aircraft is 15,460 m (50,720 ft) on 30 August 2006 by Steve Fossett (pilot) and Einar Enevoldson (co-pilot) in their high performance research glider, a modified DG-500. This record was achieved over El Calafate ( Argentina) and set as part of the Perlan Project.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_altitude_record
Flight altitude record. This listing of flight altitude records are the records set for the highest aeronautical flights conducted in the atmosphere, set since the age of ballooning. Some, but not all of the records were certified by the non-profit international aviation organization, the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_altitude_record
On November 26, 2005, Vijaypat Singhania set the world altitude record for highest hot air balloon flight, reaching 21,290 m (69,850 ft). He launched from downtown Bombay, India and landed 240 km (150 mi) south in Panchale.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_altitude_record
First flown in 1959, the three X-15 aircraft made a total of 199 flights. Flight maximums of 354,200 ft in altitude and a speed of 4,520 mph were obtained.. An airplane is a heavier-than-air flying machine whose primary purposes are transport and research.
http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2001/DanaWollman.shtml
However, the air was so thin and the temperature was so low (12 °F) that they were unconscious when they reached that altitude. In May, 1961, the current official altitude record was set. Commander Malcolm Ross and Lieutenant Victor A. Prather, Jr. of the US Navy rose 113,740 feet (34,668 m). The name of the balloon was USN Strato-Lab V. This flight was part of a program called Strato-Lab which used experimental high-altitude manned plastic balloons. Prather drowned and died after his Strato-Lab V flight. His pressure suit filled with water as he landed at sea after his record breaking flight. Even though the highest altitude was 34,668 meters, according to the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology, a zero-pressure balloon is capable of rising to an altitude of 140,000 feet (42,000 m).
http://hypertextbook.com/facts/1997/CassandraEng.shtml
highest altitude achieved by man air flight.
The highest altitude achieved by man using a air flight was 113,740 feet or 34,668 meters. 