derrick06
Active Member
Hey all! I couldn't find this specific answer in the search section so I decided to make a quick thread to ask a question about Contrails.
I live next to an airport so staring at aircraft is nothing new to me. Especially their contrails which I have even seen on racecars on humid days! (Check out this old picture from F1 I attached) Now on a race car It's easy to see the factors that effect the airflow around it and the contrails that come off its spoiler but on a plane with it's wings/exhaust It can be tougher so I noticed one thing that I was curious about!
What causes some parts of the contrail of an aircraft to stay present longer than other parts? Looking up at planes I sometimes notice this. The plane will be long gone and the trails closest to it have dissipated while another part of the trail further back can still be present. Can there be a change that much in moisture from one area to the next or wind currents? Also I have seen the contrails behind a plane suddenly stop while flying high, is this because it gained enough altitude where this won't be present? I read articles on here on how they work and such but since this was a specific question related to them I figured maybe I could post it? I apologize if this was already answered on here. Anybody have any insight?
I live next to an airport so staring at aircraft is nothing new to me. Especially their contrails which I have even seen on racecars on humid days! (Check out this old picture from F1 I attached) Now on a race car It's easy to see the factors that effect the airflow around it and the contrails that come off its spoiler but on a plane with it's wings/exhaust It can be tougher so I noticed one thing that I was curious about!
What causes some parts of the contrail of an aircraft to stay present longer than other parts? Looking up at planes I sometimes notice this. The plane will be long gone and the trails closest to it have dissipated while another part of the trail further back can still be present. Can there be a change that much in moisture from one area to the next or wind currents? Also I have seen the contrails behind a plane suddenly stop while flying high, is this because it gained enough altitude where this won't be present? I read articles on here on how they work and such but since this was a specific question related to them I figured maybe I could post it? I apologize if this was already answered on here. Anybody have any insight?