# Question re: the "mile high club" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 1, 2003, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-re-the-mile-high-club/165654 "2003-04-01T06:20:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fuji\_Kitakyusho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f0a364/32.png) [@Fuji\_Kitakyusho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuji_Kitakyusho)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2003, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-re-the-mile-high-club/165654/1 "2003-04-01T06:20:52Z")
I will be flying to Denver later this month, and I somehow got to wondering: given Denver’s altitude, could one conceivably join the “mile high club” while still on the tarmac there, or does it need to be a mile above ground to count?.. -FK ---
**Author:** ![RM\_Mentock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@RM\_Mentock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RM_Mentock)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2003, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-re-the-mile-high-club/165654/2 "2003-04-01T06:33:31Z")
Of course it does. But why would anyone want to join a club that would have them as a member? ---
**Author:** ![UncleBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d26b3c/32.png) [@UncleBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBill)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2003, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-re-the-mile-high-club/165654/3 "2003-04-01T12:37:01Z")
Nope. The “official” [Mile High Club Rules](http://milehighclub.com/about/) say you have to be at least a mile above the surface of the earth. > [@](#): > > The term “Mile High Club” refers to two people engaging in sexual activity (sexual intercourse) at an altitude of no less than 5,280 ft (a mile high above the earth) in an airplane. You CAN, however, be admitted into the less prestigious “I Had Sex in Denver” Club. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2003, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-re-the-mile-high-club/165654/4 "2003-04-01T12:46:44Z")
That only worked when groucho said it. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2003, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-re-the-mile-high-club/165654/5 "2003-04-01T18:13:40Z")
I always wondered why they call it “the mile high club” when cruising altitude is usually more like five or six miles… ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2003, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-re-the-mile-high-club/165654/6 "2003-04-01T18:30:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Shoeless \* > \*\*I always wondered why they call it “the mile high club” when cruising altitude is usually more like five or six miles… \*\* Single-engine private planes fly at much lower altitudes. You want to be high enough above the ground to regain control if you were to accidentally push the controls into a dive. ---
**Author:** ![Berkut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a88e57/32.png) [@Berkut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Berkut)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2003, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-re-the-mile-high-club/165654/7 "2003-04-01T23:46:08Z")
Yep, it’s 5280 feet AGL, not MSL. As I am a purist, I believe that one of the parties has to be flying the airplane for it to qualify. Note: The gust lock is NOT an autopilot. Please be careful. ---
**Author:** ![raisinbread](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8491ac/32.png) [@raisinbread](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raisinbread)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-re-the-mile-high-club/165654/8 "2003-04-02T00:02:50Z")
Okay the rules say “sexual activity” meaning sexual intercourse. Is this the whole potpourri of sexual acts or does it just mean normal genital-to-genital interaction? ---
**Author:** ![UncleBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d26b3c/32.png) [@UncleBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBill)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-re-the-mile-high-club/165654/9 "2003-04-02T00:04:10Z")
Insert Tab A into Slot B. ---
**Author:** ![Berkut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a88e57/32.png) [@Berkut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Berkut)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-re-the-mile-high-club/165654/10 "2003-04-02T00:55:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kunilou \* > \*\*You want to be high enough above the ground to regain control if you were to accidentally push the controls into a dive. \*\* Zero-G sex looks like fun. But, I imagine that it would be the first documented case of SDS\* being sexually transmitted disease. \*Sudden Deceleration Syndrome