Four Engines, Flying West over Sacramento

Mick West

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Staff member
at 12:16PM PST (20:16 UTC) looking west from Shingle Springs. Did not show up on FR24 or Planefinder.
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Interesting visually asymmetric aerodynamic contrail - but I suspect that's just the angle, with a center portion lower than the outer trails.
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Very annoyed I did not catch it ten minutes earlier, as it's pretty unusual.


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I can't figure out what type of plane it is from this. Looks like a T-tail, but seem skinnier than a C-5 or C-17
 
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As a first approximation, the engines "look" a bit out sized vis a viz the fuselage - something I've always associated with re-engined KC-135s.....

 
Yes, maybe the T-Tail things is a bit of an illusion, if the vertical stabilizer is just lost in the haze due to lighting.
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Pretty sure it's a KC-135R. Maybe E-8 JSTARS, but that's far less likely. No, JSTARS have the old-style narrow jets. You'd probably see the belly fairing at this angle, too.
 
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For some reason my immediate reaction was a B-52 due to the seemingly narrow wing and something about the wingspan to tail ratio, but the more I look the less sure I am.
 
For some reason my immediate reaction was a B-52 due to the seemingly narrow wing and something about the wingspan to tail ratio, but the more I look the less sure I am.

That was my first impression, particulalrly with this image:


But that's probably a trick of the light or atmospheric distortion, other photos look more conventional.
 
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