I witnessed my drinking / simming buddy @CuzDawg3 probably the set the all-time altitude record in MSFS for an Icon A5 in a flight started from less than 100’ ASL. He got up to 10,440’ or so.
Seriously I doubt anybody has EVER done this intentionally because the plane is so underpowered that it would almost take longer than the fuel lasts to get up there. And this includes @CuzDawg3. We were just trying to fly from SE China to NE Viet Nam right through where Tropical Storm Talim was then making landfall, trying to maintain MVFR at no more than 2000’. We flew across the eye and thus penetrated the eyewall twice, and it was VERY bumpy. Hell, we were often fighting headwinds of 1/2 to 3/4 of our AIS. @CuzDawg3’s extreme vertical excursion happened on hitting the further eyewall. We’d been nearly co-altitude moments before.
I hit similar updrafts along the way but not quite so extreme. The highest I ever got was about 9600’ in about 1 minute starting from 2000’. And this was while at idle power and pitched down 15^ but still going up and the IAS bumping the bottom of the yellow. Conversely, there were the downdrafts that kept driving us down despite METO power and pitched up 5^ with an IAS of 85.
Fun times for folks like us who don’t happen to live where this storm is hitting. But I do wish those in the impact area the best of luck. As a resident of the US Gulf Coast, I know only too well what being hit by a hurricane is like. So someday soon it’ll be me getting washed away and other simmers flying in the Live Weather for fun. No hard feelings.