Real atmospheric layers
| Layer | Height (approx.) | What happens there |
|---|---|---|
| Troposphere | 0–10 km (0–6 mi) | Almost all weather and clouds |
| Stratosphere | 10–50 km (6–31 mi) | Ozone layer; airliners can cruise in its lower part |
| Mesosphere | 50–85 km (31–53 mi) | Most meteors burn up here |
| Thermosphere | Above 85 km (53 mi) | Where auroras appear |
| Edge of space (Kármán line) | 100 km (62 mi) | The usual boundary between atmosphere and space |
The troposphere is lower near the poles and higher near the equator, and varies with the season. Green auroras form roughly 100–300 km up; red ones higher still.
Sources: NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory, Layers of the Atmosphere / UCAR Center for Science Education, Auroras
Game vs reality
| WingBike band | Starts at (game) | Real-world equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| Meadow | 0 m | Ground level |
| Cloud line | 300 m | Low clouds sit from a few hundred metres to around 2 km |
| High sky | 1,000 m | Middle of the troposphere |
| Stratosphere | 2,500 m | From about 10 km |
| Aurora belt | 5,000 m | About 100 km and up |
| Outer space | 9,000 m | 100 km (Kármán line) |
The game keeps the lower sky close to real scale and compresses harder the higher you go. At true scale you would climb for hours to see a single aurora.
Numbers are from WingBike 1.0. Balance may change in later updates.
Are updrafts real?
Yes. Air warmed over sunlit ground rises in thermals, and glider pilots and birds ride them to gain height. Circling inside a thermal, an unpowered glider climbs whenever the air rises faster than the glider sinks (Britannica, Thermaling). In-game updrafts are a simplified version of this.
In WingBike
The sky changes with each band
The higher you go, the darker the sky and the more stars appear. Birds live in the low sky, storm clouds show up above 600 m, and star pickups start from 120 m, getting more frequent with height.
Stronger updrafts higher up
Flying through an updraft (a jet stream higher up) pushes you upward. Updrafts appear from 120 m, get stronger with height and reach full strength from 4,000 m. The Flight branch skill Thermal sense adds 14% per level.
Altitude badges and skins
There are badges at 50 m, 250 m (Above clouds), 1,000 m, 3,000 m (Stratosphere) and 8,000 m (To space), and some skins unlock at 2,000 m and 3,000 m.
FAQ
Do airliners fly in the stratosphere?
They cruise between the upper troposphere and the lower stratosphere. At high latitudes, where the troposphere is lower, they are often in the stratosphere.
Exactly where does space begin?
There is no single legal boundary agreed internationally. The 100 km Kármán line is the common reference, and some agencies use a lower line of about 80 km (50 mi).
WingBike: Fly and Jump Racer
No account, fully offline, played with one finger. Free on Android.