What is the expected ground distance in nautical miles for a flight from an airport at 1,000 ft elevation to 9,500 ft altitude with a heading of 224 degrees?

To determine the expected ground distance for a flight from 1,000 feet elevation to 9,500 feet altitude at a heading of 224 degrees, one must consider the change in altitude along with the horizontal distance covered. The altitude gain is 9,500 ft - 1,000 ft = 8,500 ft.

When calculating ground distance, particularly in a few cases involving climbing to a given altitude, the angle of climb, often referred to in aviation as the "climb gradient," must be taken into account. A typical ascent rate can be calculated with a standard climb gradient, often approximated as 300 feet of altitude per nautical mile horizontally for general calculations.

Using a standard climb gradient, if you're climbing 8,500 feet, the distance you should expect to cover horizontally (ground distance) can be found by dividing the total altitude gain by this standard gradient:

8,500 ft ÷ 300 ft/NM = approximately 28.33 NM.

However, due to the fact that the question lists distance with specific choices, it may be prudent to take into account other factors, including wind and the specific climb performance of the aircraft, leading to refined estimates.

Through careful approximation and rounding during calculations, the closest