Photos of Planes and Contrails (That you took yourself)

[Trailspotter]

How did you do that! Have you mixed a FlighAware track into Google Earth? Looks cool whatever it is!

You can get the FlightAware track in KML format by clicking on the Goggle Earth link (it appears after the flight is completed):

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/DAL405/history/20161003/0855ZZ/LFPG/KJFK
KML files of the flight tracks are also available from FR24 (only to the subscribers).

I've just opened the DAL405 file (attached) in Google Earth and looked at it from your location. The opaque (black) section is for the time interval from 10:22 to 10:23 UTC, the Sun position is at the 10:23 as well.

 

[Clouds Givemethewillies]

You can get the FlightAware track in KML format by clicking on the Goggle Earth link (it appears after the flight is completed):
View attachment 21784
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/DAL405/history/20161003/0855ZZ/LFPG/KJFK
KML files of the flight tracks are also available from FR24 (only to the subscribers).

I've just opened the DAL405 file (attached) in Google Earth and looked at it from your location. The opaque (black) section is for the time interval from 10:22 to 10:23 UTC, the Sun position is at the 10:23 as well.

I worked! Thanks for teaching me a new trick.

I think I am beginning to get my head around in-line shadows.. If the plane is travelling in a straight line, the shadows are in the plane of the trail and sun. If the airplane passes over the sun at the observing position then the observer is also in that plane, and whichever way you look the trail and shadow will be in line. If the track is a curve then the shadow and trail will be in line if the tangent to the trail extrapolates back through the sun.. I think..

 

[M Bornong]

A new plane in the skies. The Boeing KC-46A, being built to replace the aging KC-135's. As of May 27, 2016:

Boeing continues to demonstrate its commitment to the USAF and the Tanker program with 5 aircraft now in test (including the first production aircraft), 7 aircraft in final production build, and 8 aircraft in the supply chain – up to tail number 20. The KC-46 Tanker will play a vital role in America's Air Mobility Forces providing both global power projection and unrivaled global reach for decades to come."

http://www.boeing.com/defense/kc-46a-pegasus-tanker/

 

[Clouds Givemethewillies]

Short contrail, long vapour gap. low sun.

GTI606 32,000 ft.

 

[Mick West]

Alaska 577, 38,000 feet, Burbank to Seattle, 737. Shingle Springs, CA. 6:10PM PDT

ISO 100, f/6.5, 1/250. Auto with EV-1.

 

[deirdre]

this looked cooler in real life (my camera sucks). "HAARP" clouds produce a morse code contrail

1:46pm

1:48pm

and another plane, neat contrail shape

and i actually got a pretty clear zoom in!

 

[Trailblazer]

and i actually got a pretty clear zoom in!
View attachment 22105

Delta?

 

[deirdre]

Delta?

my playback is being funny. google says it would be 5:44 UTC? But its not showing as many planes as i saw at the time. and maybe im seeing a delay... cathay? (i'm not sure what direction i was facing

 

[Mick West]

my playback is being funny. google says it would be 5:44 UTC? But its not showing as many planes as i saw at the time. and maybe im seeing a delay... cathay? (i'm not sure what direction i was facing

5:44 PM UTC, so 17:44

 

[Mick West]

I'd say BA 2167, based on the flash of red on the tail

 

[Mick West]

Although Delta 1209 is similar.

Edit: And more consistent with the overall shape and the blue paint underneath tapering to the front.

 

[deirdre]

I'd say BA 2167, based on the flash of red on the tail

i did just figure out i was facing northish and it came from my right. took me a while to orient, but you were quicker!

 

[Trailspotter]

And more consistent with the overall shape and the blue paint underneath tapering to the front.

And is also more consistent with @deirdre's location

 

[steve holmes]

Not wanting to clutter up other threads with my photos, here's a thread just for posting your own photos of planes and contrails.

Here's one I got by accident - a turboprop leaving a quadruple helix of prop contrails.

Was that picture taken with your 800 mm lens? Do you remember how high up it was?

 

[Mick West]

Was that picture taken with your 800 mm lens? Do you remember how high up it was?

Yes, a 500mm lens on a Canon 7D which has a 1.6x crop (so 800mm equivalent). It was taking off from LAX, so probably under 1000 feet. Bit of crop and contrast. Here's the original overlaid with info.

 

[Trailblazer]

Distrail over Henley this morning.

And (unrelated) departure from Heathrow:

Tourist fact: the gateway in the background is the entrance to Friar Park, former home of George Harrison from the Beatles. (We're staying just over the road for the weekend.)

 

[Marin B]

This morning I could tell that conditions were right in the San Francisco area for persistent contrails:

At work I snapped a picture at 10:45 of what I thought was a trail left by UAL6 (Tokyo to Houston flying at 35,000 ft). But then I realized later that trails outside my office window are farther north than they appear, so after going to FR24 I think a more likely candidate is AAL7 (Dallas to Hawaii).

By 12:30 there was pretty extensive coverage:

I know I'm going to get an earful about all the spraying that was going on today

 

[Clouds Givemethewillies]

Purple chemjuice, starboard engine.

.Well it looked purple in the viewfinder, not so much here!

 

[Trailblazer]

Purple chemjuice, starboard engine.View attachment 22538 .Well it looked purple in the viewfinder, not so much here!

Nice, registration easily legible. What camera?

 

[Clouds Givemethewillies]

What camera?

Fujifilm Finepix S1, handheld, full zoom, 50X optical + 2X digital

 

[Clouds Givemethewillies]

The engines on the Swiss plane seem to be more slender than most. I wonder if they result in finer contrail initiation compared

to others on the same day eg.

 

[Trailspotter]

The engines on the Swiss plane seem to be more slender than most. I wonder if they result in finer contrail initiation compared to others on the same day eg.

I do not think that the engine cowling size matter. However, different planes do have different engines:
Swiss Airbus A330 HB-JHF Engines 2 x RR Trent 772B-60
Air France Boeing 777 F-GSPR Engines 2 x GE GE90-90B2

 

[Clouds Givemethewillies]

I do not think that the engine cowling size matter. However, different planes do have different engines:
Swiss Airbus A330 HB-JHF Engines 2 x RR Trent 772B-60
Air France Boeing 777 F-GSPR Engines 2 x GE GE90-90B2

I imagine they try to match the velocities of the turbine exhaust, and bypass air, but this might depend more on operating conditions than engine type.

 

[Trailblazer]

A nice example of how foreshortening can fool the eye: what looks like a sharp, almost right-angled turn is actually a fairly gentle course correction. (And not over town as you might think, but way out over the sea)

 

[Clouds Givemethewillies]

BA283 just now.

 

[Clouds Givemethewillies]

Same BAW283 A380 leaving a long persistent trail with very short vapour gap.

 

[Clouds Givemethewillies]

After sunset.

 

[Clouds Givemethewillies]

 

[Clouds Givemethewillies]

 

[Clouds Givemethewillies]

Metrabunk editor is broken..

 

[deirdre]

Metrabunk editor is broken..

you have to hit the "more options" button on the bottom after you open "edit" to change or delete photos.

 

[Clouds Givemethewillies]

It hates me, and I feel the same way. It needs a self-destruct button under more options.

 

[Clouds Givemethewillies]

'Hobbit Jet' after sunset. NZ1

32,000 ft.

 

[Clouds Givemethewillies]

https://www.flightradar24.com/2016-11-27/14:36/12x/ACA851/bbb6dcb

 

[Clouds Givemethewillies]

https://www.flightradar24.com/2016-11-27/14:01/12x/ACA865/bbb5a1a

 

[Clouds Givemethewillies]

Hawks, I think, going home in time

for tea.. and some others.. more copies than I intended!

 

[Clouds Givemethewillies]

Some sqiggly ones from this bad boy. BA295 https://www.flightradar24.com/2016-11-30/13:30/12x/BAW295/bc2bd3c

 

[Clouds Givemethewillies]

Another sink-

sprayer.

 

[Trailspotter]

EasyJet Airbus A320-214 G-EZOY flight 6466 to Newcastle via Moon at around 15:20 UTC today. A crop from yet unpublished video.

Edit:
Here is the video

Source: https://youtu.be/HC7rBqoMTE8

Note that at the moment of passing the edge of the Moon disk, the exhaust trail in the gap between the engine and the beginning of contrail briefly becomes visible.

 

[Spectrar Ghost]

EasyJet Airbus A320-214 G-EZOY flight 6466 to Newcastle via Moon at around 15:20 UTC today. A crop from yet unpublished video.
View attachment 23232

Great composition there.