Definition
The point along a flight path at which the aircraft levels off after completing its climb and reaches its planned cruise altitude.
Plain English
Context Anchor
Seen in flight planning, instrument en route procedures, and aircraft performance discussions when calculating climb distance, time, fuel, and the start of the cruise portion of the flight.
Derivation
“Top” means the upper end or highest part, and “climb” means going upward. In aviation, top of climb means the upper end of the climbing part of the flight, not the highest altitude the aircraft could ever reach.
Why Pilots Care
Marks the transition to cruise for fuel burn, time en route, and navigation planning.
Intuition Check
Do not read TOC as a clearance or a mandatory reporting point by itself. It is a planning point: the point where the climb ends and level flight begins.
Example Sentence 1
The FMS showed TOC about 80 miles ahead, so the pilot prepared to set cruise power once level at FL310.
Example Sentence 2
Once past TOC the crew reduced climb power and engaged cruise settings for the en route segment.