Photos of Planes and Contrails (That you took yourself)

[JRBids]

Do you know what this plane is?

https://www.facebook.com/groups/globalskywatch/permalink/10153200917790302/

 

[solrey]

Do you know what this plane is?

https://www.facebook.com/groups/globalskywatch/permalink/10153200917790302/

View attachment 4103

Cessna Grand Caravan. Versatile little planes for both passengers and cargo. That black pod on the bottom is the cargo hold.

http://www.cessna.com/caravan/grand-caravan-ex

Edit: Added image.

 

[captfitch]

Ah yes... The mighty 'van. I flew one for about a year. That cargo pod is really more trouble than its worth. It can't hold much weight but it does add drag. I haven't heard of anyone ever doing water dropping from a caravan and they certainly wouldn't do it from the pod. I think it can only hold a few hundred pounds.

I like all the comments. Very creative!

 

[Boston]

There's a really simple way to settle this one, spectral analysis will tell you exactly whats in this stuff. Personally I remain unconvinced of any evidence of the so called con trails. I think Mick did a good job on this one.

Show us a spectral polimetric image analysis or better yet a number of them. This would prove or disprove the hypothesis pretty darn fast IMHO.

 

[Mumbles]

B737-300 generating vortices on a cold and damp day:

 

[Don Gisselbeck]

A pair of interesting contrails over Missoula. The extremely short break was odd. The fine structure of the other was amazing. Both ended to the west in a patch of high cirrus.

 

[captfitch]

I think someone flew through the first one and the second tells me things are super stable up there... The spread is possibly caused only by the plane itself?? Hard to say

 

[cloudspotter]

Thought some of the enthusiasts and pilots may appreciate this. Leaving RAF Coningsby at the weekend heading for retirement

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-24226550


(apologies for the quality and the campsite clutter in the foreground)

 

[Pete Tar]

Why would a plane need headlights?
The other night it was kind of hazy and a plane flew past with a light beam in front it, obviously from it's strong lights. But how do headlights on a plane serve any purpose, everything's lit up on the ground isn't it?

 

[Mick West]

Why would a plane need headlights?
The other night it was kind of hazy and a plane flew past with a light beam in front it, obviously from it's strong lights. But how do headlights on a plane serve any purpose, everything's lit up on the ground isn't it?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft_landing_lights

Almost all modern aircraft are equipped with landing lights if they are intended and approved for nighttime operations. Landing lights are usually of very high intensity because of the considerable distance that may separate an aircraft from terrain or obstacles; the landing lights of large aircraft can easily be seen by other aircraft over 100 miles away.
...
Landing lights are typically only useful as visibility aids to the pilots when the aircraft is very low and close to terrain, as during take-off and landing. Landing lights are usually extinguished in cruise flight, especially if atmospheric conditions are likely to cause reflection or glare from the lights back into the eyes of the pilots. However, the brightness of the landing lights makes them useful for increasing the visibility of an aircraft to other pilots, and so pilots are often encouraged to keep their landing lights on while in flight below certain altitudes or in crowded airspaces. Some aircraft (especially business jets) have lights that can be operated in a flashing mode when not needed to directly illuminate the ground to enhance the visibility of the aircraft further. One convention is for commercial aircraft to turn on their landing lights when changing flight levels.
...
In the United States, for example, landing lights are not required to be present or used for many types of aircraft, but their use is strongly encouraged, both for take-off and landing and during any operations below 6000 ft AGL or within ten nautical miles of an airport.

 

[Pete Tar]

Thanks. It was just hard to imagine lights being of use up there.

 

[scombrid]

However, the brightness of the landing lights makes them useful for increasing the visibility of an aircraft to other pilots, and so pilots are often encouraged to keep their landing lights on while in flight below certain altitudes or in crowded airspaces.

Was flying from Albany to Charlotte a few years ago. T-storm shut down the airport about the time we were over Greensboro. We held between Lake Norman and Greensboro for almost 2 hours (along with a lot of other planes. It looked like a NASCAR oval up there with planes flying in circles above and below us). When the airport finally opened back up it was a case of GET EVERYBODY ON THE GROUND NOW after that long hold (flights coming in from across country didn't have enough fuel to hold for 2 hours and got diverted, including the one that was supposed to pick me up and take me to Orlando. It had landed in Memphis and I had to wait for it to refuel and then re-crew once it made CLT. It was a long night). When we hit the ground the taxiways were full. Nobody was taking off. The runways were all open for incoming. When we turned for the gate I got a view back up the runway and it looked like an alien invasion with the runway lights from all the incoming flights.

 

[TWCobra]

We switch the landing lights on, night or day, generally below 10,000 AGL. They are used as anti-collision lights until we get to about 200 feet at night where they illuminate the touchdown area, generally to help depth perception and make sure the runway is clear of obstructions.

 

[PCWilliams]

We switch the landing lights on, night or day, generally below 10,000 AGL.

That's what i thought it was - AOB (at or below) 10,000

 

[MikeC]

As a ramp mechanic we used to spot and identify a/c on approach from the LL configuration

 

[Mumbles]

As a ramp mechanic we used to spot and identify a/c on approach from the LL configuration

As an enthusisast I do this routinely as well.

 

[M Bornong]

A couple of interesting contrails I captured this morning (9:30 am) over Bakersfield, CA.

 

[A380]

A couple of interesting contrails I captured this morning (9:30 am) over Bakersfield, CA.

There are also Iridescent Clouds.

 

[Mick West]

The second image there shows an interesting optical illusion. It seems like the contrail is below the cloud layer, and yet you can tell from the shadow that it's actually above it.

 

[A380]

It seems like the contrail is below the cloud layer, and yet you can tell from the shadow that it's actually above it.

Both shadows are from the same contrail:

Good to see are the different heights of different cloud layers.

There is not a shadow, but it was a distrail:

In a contrail on the left side the right sun dog can be seen.

 

[Drew]

Heyo... been a long while since I've been to Metabunk, but I have something to add that made me think of you guys:

On 12/21 I was on Roosevelt Island in the East River alongside Manhattan at Four Freedoms park. Saw a great "inverse contrail", which, sadly I was only able to photograph on an iPhone 4...

(Upper right, in comparison to a standard contrail)


I will admit — I am 0% inclined to credit this toward woo, it's just something I've never seen before and I'm curious how these form. It didn't appear to be a shadow, and it didn't seem to be aligned with any of the familiar high-altitude flight patterns, and there was no immediate high-altitude plane in the vicinity along that bearing (but it's not like I know all the high-altitude patterns over NYC by heart). Anyway, I'm curious to know more about it.

But for the woo-inclined, here is a photo of a "contrail" over United Nations Headquarters, on the Winter Solstice. :]

 

[A380]

It didn't appear to be a shadow, and it didn't seem to be aligned with any of the familiar high-altitude flight patterns, and there was no immediate high-altitude plane in the vicinity along that bearing (but it's not like I know all the high-altitude patterns over NYC by heart).

In my opinion it's a distrail:

http://www.weatherscapes.com/photo.php?cat=clouds&id=d-040817-002
http://www.weatherscapes.com/photo.php?cat=clouds&id=d-040817-005

 

[Drew]

In my opinion it's a distrail:

http://www.weatherscapes.com/photo.php?cat=clouds&id=d-040817-002
http://www.weatherscapes.com/photo.php?cat=clouds&id=d-040817-005

I immediately concur with your opinion. Thank you, sir.

Is it just disturbed/warmer air/combustion products left in the wake of a long-departed plane? This makes sense.

I have just never seen (or noticed) one before. Much obliged.

 

[A380]

Is it just disturbed/warmer air/combustion products left in the wake of a long-departed plane?

In this case, the particles from the exhaust gases, can freeze the moisture. This is similar to a hole punch cloud: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallstreak_hole

In Germany (and perhaps elsewhere) we have also another definition of distrail, a downwash. Here the droplets evaporate by warm air from the environment and from the exhaust gases. But that should not have been in your case.

 

[JFDee]

March 2011, Sunset

View from my flat (greater Frankfurt area) to the West-Nord-West. In the line of sight it's around 150 km to the border of Luxembourg.

 

[Mackdog]

Plane on a street:

What exactly causes this effect? I saw something just like this a couple weeks ago and could not figure out what causes it. It was exactly the same except that the 'street' was more of a grayish color.

 

[Mick West]

What exactly causes this effect? I saw something just like this a couple weeks ago and could not figure out what causes it. It was exactly the same except that the 'street' was more of a grayish color.

See #3 here
http://contrailscience.com/contrails-dark-lines-chemtrails/

 

[Mick West]

This is modified by taking the sky as the black point in setting levels. It really brings out the detail in the contrail.

 

[Pete Tar]

Post-shot in the computer or before in the camera settings?

 

[Mick West]

Post-shot in the computer or before in the camera settings?

Computer, the original is:

All I did in photoshop was Levels, then "Sample in Image to Set Black Point", then a little sharpening.

 

[Mick West]

A picture of my lovely KC-10 with an aerodynamic contrail forming on the leading edge of the wing and flowing over the top, in IMC conditions

PS, how do you post a picture straight onto the post, like Mick is doing up top?

See here:

https://www.metabunk.org/threads/how-to-upload-and-attach-an-image-or-file-to-a-post.2269/

4. If it's an image, click on "Full Image", or "Thumbnail"

 

[KC-10FE]

A formation of 6 F16CM's climbing to the top of the ALTRV (Altitude Reservation) after their final refueling and pushing ahead to land in front of the tanker

 

[KC-10FE]

Refueling another KC-10 somewhere over the North Atlantic in IMC conditions. Note the aerodynamic contrail forming over the wing.

 

[Mick West]

This thread is for posting photos of planes and contrails that you take yourself, and not photos found on the internet.

 

[Mattnik]

These are terrific photographs. Bravo!

 

[KC-10FE]

Over the midwest US last year during air to air refueling

 

[Svartbjørn]

wow.. gorgeous shots KC

 

[KC-10FE]

3 Eurofighters dogfighting over Germany today

 

[CapnPegleg]

Some skywriting today near MCAS Miramar in San Diego.

 

[Bruno D.]

Christian chemtrails, basically everyday over DisneyWorld's skies ...