why do airplanes redirect there course shown by thier contails

Why do flights take a curved route rather than a straight path?

The Earth is not a perfect sphere and is slightly flatter at the poles. While a flat map displays the flight's route relatively straighter, it gets curved once you plot it on a globe. Originally Answered: Why do flights take a curved, longer route rather than a straight path?

Why do airlines use arced routes on maps?

But seeing an arced route can leave passengers confused. As revealed here, though, an arc — when displayed on a flat map — is the shortest distance between two locations, so it only makes sense for airlines to use them.

Why do planes make contrails when they fly?

The vapor then condenses into tiny water droplets which freeze if the temperature is low enough. These millions of tiny water droplets and/or ice crystals form the contrails. The time taken for the vapor to cool enough to condense accounts for the contrail forming some distance behind the aircraft.

Why do airplanes have trails?

The combination of water vapor in aircraft engine exhaust and the low ambient temperatures that exist at high altitudes allows the formation of the trails.

Why do some planes leave contrails and others don t?

Often, aircraft appear to be at the same level with one causing a contrail and the other not. However, the regions of humid air that cause the contrails are known to be wide but shallow. A difference in flight level of 1,000 feet is enough for one aircraft to cause a contrail and the other not.

Why do some planes leave a white trail behind them?

Jets leave white trails, or contrails, in their wakes for the same reason you can sometimes see your breath. The hot, humid exhaust from jet engines mixes with the atmosphere, which at high altitude is of much lower vapor pressure and temperature than the exhaust gas.

What is the purpose of contrails?

Unlike low-level clouds that have a net cooling effect, these contrail-formed clouds warm the climate. A 2011 study suggests that the net effect of these contrail clouds contributes more to atmospheric warming than all the carbon dioxide (CO2) produced by planes since the dawn of aviation.

Why do military jets not leave contrails?

Not just stealth aircraft, most military aircraft are required to avoid contrails. Contrails form due to moisture in the aircraft's exhaust. A tried and tested method by NASA is NOT to fly in regions of air that support contrail formation.

At what altitude do planes leave contrails?

26,000 ftExhaust contrails usually form at high altitudes; usually above 8,000 m (26,000 ft), where the air temperature is below −36.5 °C (−34 °F). They can also form closer to the ground when the air is cold and moist.

What causes black contrails?

Contrails form when hot humid air from jet engines mixes with the surrounding air in the atmosphere which is drier and colder. The mixing is a result of turbulence generated by the jet engine exhaust. The water vapor in the jet exhaust then condenses and forms a cloud.

Do planes dump toilet waste in the air?

Airlines are not allowed to dump their waste tanks in mid-flight, and pilots have no mechanism by which to do so; however, leaks sometimes do occur from a plane's septic tank.

Do commercial airplanes leave contrails?

Contrails form when jet exhaust emits water vapor that condenses and freezes. Contrails don't form for every airplane. The atmosphere where the plane is flying needs to have low vapor pressure and low temperature. There are three types of contrails.

Why do jet planes leave a white trail behind them Class 7?

Explanation: The atmosphere is thin and cold the higher up a plane goes. The exhaust from a plane's engine is much hotter than the atmosphere. The water vapour from the hot plane engine turns to ice mid-air which we see as white lines in the sky caked contrails.

Do planes dump fuel before landing?

A Very Practical Solution. Airplane fuel can be quite heavy, sometimes weighing as much as 6 pounds a gallon. If an airplane holds 5,000 gallons of fuel, that can add up to 30,000 lbs. to the plane's weight. In fact, lowering its weight is the main reason why airplanes dump fuel right before landing.

What happens to fuel dumped by airplanes?

When an aircraft decides to dump fuel at altitude, the pilots flick a switch in the cockpit, and pumps push the fuel out of nozzles in the wings. The fuel disperses over a wide enough area that the particles evaporate into a fine mist.

What is difference between jet and airplane?

In short, a jet can be a plane, but a plane can't always be a jet. This is because a jet describes any plane that has a jet engine. A jet engine can either be a turbojet or turbofan engine, whereas a non-jet engine used in an aircraft is usually a turboprop. Turboprop engines are typically found in propeller planes.

What is a contrail from an airplane?

A contrail from an airplane flying towards the observer can appear to be generated by an object moving vertically. On 8 November 2010 in the US state of California, a contrail of this type gained media attention as a "mystery missile" that could not be explained by U.S. military and aviation authorities, and its explanation as a contrail took more than 24 hours to become accepted by U.S. media and military institutions.

Why does supercooled water vapor need a trigger?

At high altitudes, supercooled water vapor requires a trigger to encourage deposition or condensation. The exhaust particles in the aircraft's exhaust act as this trigger, causing the trapped vapor to condense rapidly.

How do contrails affect the Earth's radiation balance?

Contrails, by affecting the Earth's radiation balance, act as a radiative forcing: they trap outgoing longwave radiation emitted by the Earth and atmosphere more than they reflect incoming solar radiation . In 1992, the warming effect was estimated between 3.5 mW / m 2 and 17 mW/m 2.

How much of the air traffic is caused by night flights?

The effect varies daily and annually: night flights contribute 60 to 80% of contrail radiative forcing while accounting for 25% of daily air traffic, while winter flights contribute half of the annual mean radiative forcing while accounting for 22% of annual air traffic.

What are the components of a contrail?

Contrails are composed primarily of water, in the form of ice crystals. The combination of water vapor in aircraft engine exhaust and the low ambient temperatures that exist at high altitudes allows the formation of the trails. Impurities in the engine exhaust from the fuel, including sulfur compounds (0.05% by weight in jet fuel) ...

How does vapor form contrails?

The vapor then condenses into tiny water droplets which freeze if the temperature is low enough. These millions of tiny water droplets and/or ice crystals form the contrails. The time taken for the vapor to cool enough to condense accounts for the contrail forming some distance behind the aircraft.

What causes condensation on turbofan?

At high-thrust settings the fan blades at the intake of a turbofan engine reach transonic speeds, causing a sudden drop in air pressure. This creates the condensation fog (inside the intake) which is often observed by air travelers during takeoff.

How does air affect contrails?

How does this affect the production of contrails exactly? Well, the air produced by a jet engine is warmer and more humid than this air. As a result, the mixing of these two types of air triggers various changes. The hot and humid air produced by the airplane’s engine mixes with the cool and dry air outside of the airplane, resulting in the formation of contrails. In other words, contrails are condensation in the sky that manifest as white smoke.

What is the trail of smoke left in the wake of jet engine airplanes?

During flight, an airplane’s engine — or engines — will produce hot and humid air. As the engine burns a combination of fuel and air, it creates hot and humid air as a byproduct, which is expelled out the back of the engine. As this newly created hot and humid air mixes with the air outside the airplane, it creates the appearance of white smoke.

Why do airplanes leave white smoke?

To recap, airplanes leave behind a trail of white smoke due to the mixing of hot and humid air with cool and dry air. It’s essentially the same phenomenon that occurs when you exhale on a cold winter day. Exhaling causes the hot and humid air in your mouth to mix with the cool and dry air outdoor air, resulting in condensation ...

What is the white smoke emitted by airplanes called?

The Myth of Chemtrails. Some people mistakenly believe that the white smoke emitted by airplanes is chemtrails. Not to be confused with contrails, the term “chemtrails” refers to the theory that airplanes intentionally leave behind chemical or biological agents in the sky.

What is the condensation in the sky that manifests as white smoke?

The hot and humid air produced by the airplane’s engine mixes with the cool and dry air outside of the airplane, resulting in the formation of contrails. In other words, contrails are condensation in the sky that manifest as white smoke.

Why do planes travel in an arc?

The reason planes travel in an arc is because Earth is three dimensional and maps are two dimensional. If you made a straight line between two locations, such as New York City and Paris, on a spherical, three-dimensional globe and then flattened globe into a two-dimensional map, the once-straight route would then be an arc.

Why do airlines choose the shortest flight path?

Any by choosing the shortest possible flight trajectory, airlines save money in several ways. First, it takes less fuel to fly a short path rather than a lone one. Second, airlines pay less in employee expenses. And third, airlines are able to sell more tickets when they perform shorter flights. These are just a few reasons that airlines typically choose the shortest flight path, which is an arc.

Why do airlines use arcs?

It’s no secret that airlines prefer the shortest flight paths to save money and improve efficiency. But seeing an arced route can leave passengers confused. As revealed here, though, an arc — when displayed on a flat map — is the shortest distance between two locations, so it only makes sense for airlines to use them.

Why are airplanes built?

Airplanes are built so that their weight is spread from front to back. This keeps the airplane balanced. Don't forget the pilot! Image Credit: NASA. Thrust is the force that moves the airplane forward. Engines give thrust to airplanes. Sometimes an engine turns a propeller. Sometimes it is a jet engine.

Why do airplanes feel drag?

You can feel drag when you walk against a strong wind. Airplanes are designed to let air pass around them with less drag. An airplane flies when all four forces work together. But, most airplanes need one more thing: They need a pilot to fly them! › Back To Top.

How many forces do airplanes need to fly?

Airplanes need four forces to fly. Lift is one of them. Image Credit: NASA. How do airplanes stay in the air? Four forces keep an airplane in the sky. They are lift, weight, thrust and drag.

What is the name of the system that allows aircraft to fly along the rhumb line?

Aircraft fly along rhumb line if there are no ground based radio navigation aids on and also when it is not equipped with Global Position System (GPS) or Inertial Navigation System (INS).

Why is the Great Circle route shorter than the straight line?

You'd be very surprised who deceptive flat maps can be. It is shorter to fly the Great Circle route than a straight line due to the circumference of the earth being so much greater at the equator than near the poles.

What are the curved lines on a map?

What appear to be curved lines on a map are actually straight lines when viewed from the top (plan view) on globe. Great Circle Navigation: Airlines by and large fly in a straight line called great circle. Great circle is the shortest route between any two points on earth.

How fast can an airplane fly?

Their speed can range between 60 to 100 miles an hour. Depending on the direction of upper winds ground speed of an aircraft would increase or decrease proportionately. Aircraft flying from Asia to North America in a ‘north south’ direction (cross wind) through north pole save upto 30 minutes of flying time.

What does "plane" mean?

pleɪn/Submit. noun. a flat surface on which a straight line joining any two points on it would wholly lie. "the horizontal plane". adjective. completely level or flat. "a plane surface".

Do transoceanic flights follow geodesics?

So transoceanic flights follow geodesics or sometimes via poles. Straight line on 2D map can't provide you shortest distance in 3D world. Geodesics are the only shortest distance on sphere in 3D world. So the curve line visible on 2D map actually a straight line on 3D earth or 3D world.

Is the shortest path between two points straight?

You will find that the shortest path between two points is indeed a straight line in a ‘Euclidean’ geometry, meaning in a flat plane. The world is not flat, unless you are a crazy flat earther. Think about it this way. The poles are a ‘portal’ that allows one to get to any longitude in a matter of seconds.

Why do planes turn in circles?

That's why turning a plane in a circle will make it lose lift and altitude (height) unless the pilot does something else to compensate, such as using the elevators (the flight control surfaces at the back of the plane) to increase the angle of attack and therefore raise the lift again .

How do planes fly?

If you've ever watched a jet plane taking off or coming in to land, the first thing you'll have noticed is the noise of the engines. Jet engines, which are long metal tubes burning a continuous rush of fuel and air, are far noisier (and far more powerful) than traditional propeller engines. You might think engines are the key to making a plane fly, but you'd be wrong. Things can fly quite happily without engines, as gliders (planes with no engines), paper planes, and indeed gliding birds readily show us.

How do wings make lift?

In one sentence, wings make lift by changing the direction and pressure of the air that crashes into them as the engines shoot them through the sky.

What are the forces that act on a plane?

When the plane flies horizontally at a steady speed, lift from the wings exactly balances the plane's weight and the thrust exactly balances the drag. However, during takeoff, or when the plane is attempting to climb in the sky (as shown here), the thrust from the engines pushing the plane forward exceeds the drag (air resistance) pulling it back. This creates a lift force, greater than the plane's weight, which powers the plane higher into the sky. Photo by Nathanael Callon courtesy of US Air Force.

How do planes produce lift?

But small wings can also produce a great deal of lift if they move fast enough. To produce extra lift at takeoff, planes have flaps on their wings they can extend to push more air down. Lift and drag vary with the square of your speed, so if a plane goes twice as fast, relative to the oncoming air, its wings produce four times as much lift (and drag). Helicopters produce a huge amount of lift by spinning their rotor blades (essentially thin wings that spin in a circle) very quickly.

How does a vortex affect a plane?

Among other things, the vortex affects how closely one plane can fly behind another and it's particularly important near airports where there are lots of planes moving all the time, making complex patterns of turbulence in the air. Left: Colored smoke shows the wing vortices produced by a real plane.

What are the flaps on a plane called?

Planes are moved up and down, steered from side to side, and brought to a halt by a complex collection of moving flaps called control surfaces on the leading and trailing edges of the wings and tail. These are called ailerons, elevators, rudders, spoilers, and air brakes.

Why Are Airplanes Pressurized?

The airplane cabin is pressurized to maintain the air pressure at sea levels because if the cabin is not pressurized, passengers will get sick, lose consciousness, and possibly die. Airplane cabins are pressurized to maintain the air pressure inside the cabin, so that passengers are able to breathe.

What Happens When A Plane Loses Cabin Pressure?

When a cabin is suddenly depressurized, oxygen masks pop out of the upper sockets to provide oxygen supply to passengers.

What pressure do airplanes pressurize?

What Pressure Are Airplanes Pressurized To. To better understand why airlines need to pressurize their cabins, it is important to clarify the air pressure once the airplane is at a cruising altitude of more than 30,000 feet. At 35,000 feet, the air pressure is only about 4 pounds per square inch compared to 14.7 pounds per square inch.

How is the cabin pressurized?

The cabin is pressurized using vents in the engine of an airplane. In modern commercial airlines, a series of vented rotors are present behind the large fans of the engine. These overflow valves are automatically controlled by the onboard computers, but pilots are also able to control these outflow valves.

What are the scenes of cabin depressurization?

It’s common for Hollywood movies to show scenes of cabin depressurization. The unfolding tragedy includes oxygen masks popping out of their sockets, objects flying in the air, and passengers sucked out of the cabin. All these scenes make the viewer think, why are airplane cabin pressurized, and what would happen if the plane loses cabin pressure?

What is the process of lowering the air pressure in a cabin?

When the pressure inside the cabin needs to be lowered, the outflow valves open up to allow air. The process is also called bleeding the air inside the cabin. In a controlled manner, the valve is opened and shut to control the air pressure inside the cabin.

Why should airplanes fly at lower altitudes?

If someone thinks that airplanes should fly at a lower altitude to avoid dangers associated with depressurization , they should better think again. Flying low will put the airplane in danger of striking mountains and high-plains. In addition, the airplane will be prone to lightning, thunder strikes, and adverse weather.

What does APU do on a plane?

Usually, the APU only runs when the plane is parked. It also powers onboard electronics like cabin lights and air conditioning. One the plane heads for the runway the main engines take over. And the APU is turned off. So, the next time you lift off, thank that tiny hole in the tail.

What is the secret engine of an airplane?

Airplanes have a secret engine hidden in the tail. An envelope. It indicates the ability to send an email. A stylized bird with an open mouth, tweeting. Twitter. The word "in". LinkedIn. An image of a chain link. It symobilizes a website link url.

Do jetliners have holes in their tails?

Most commercial jetliners have a small hole in the tail. Have you ever wondered what this hole is there for? Following is a transcript of the video.

Where are ashtrays on planes?

However, observant passengers today will still notice that there remain ashtrays on planes. Specifically, ashtrays can usually be found in or outside lavatories and that’s even the case on newly delivered airframes.

Is smoking allowed on airplanes?

Therefore, although smoking is entirely banned on all aircraft around the world , just remember that the ashtray is there for passenger safety in case someone does break the rules.

Overview

Condensation trails as a result of engine exhaust

Condensation from decreases in pressure

Radiative forcing

Head-on contrails

Distrails

See also

External links