Sorry for the hiatus, folks! It was expected, given interceding plans, but there it is and it feels like it's been going on for ever and that it's never going to end.
L'aero is planning to leave tomorrow for two weeks. It was to leave today, but a wintry mix postponed the departure.
I've just returned from a five-day visit to a dear college friend in Florida, and now it's time to crank up the oral test practice. I expect that part of the pre-checkride prep flights with Chuck will include some oral questions, and Husband is helping me to get through the practice book. I'm also looking at possibly getting together with another local instructor who took newly-certificated-388-co-owner John through his training. The more practice, the more knowledge, the better, I figure.
Coming back from Florida, I was on a 737 cruising along at FL370. Perhaps you peeps can tell me if I'm tricking myself about this: So we're hovering in the blue, and below us is a nice, soft-looking cloud layer. A little ways off to the side I see a dark gray line that appears to be sitting right on top, contrasting with the bright white of the clouds. I follow with my eye to the "end" of that gray line and find a lil' plane. Hmm. Contrails through clear skies are white. Are contrails through clouds gray? (Or maybe this phenomenon can't be called a "contrail," but it left similar enough evidence that that's what I thought of...)
Hey K welcome back !
ReplyDeleteIf you were heading northbound the grey contrail would be your contrail's shadow in the cloud below ?
Thanks, FD!
ReplyDeleteHusband asked the same thing, but the trail extended well out ahead of us and stopped pretty much right next to us, and at the stopping point I could see plane "attached" the dark stripe, headed in the opposite direction from our path. Curious, isn't it?
You know, I got to thinking... Maybe that dark stripe was a shadow -- from the other plane's contrail... Perhaps his contrail was "invisible" on account of having a solid-white-cloud background, and he was at the perfect angle to look like he was leaving a dark trail. That is a possibility...
ReplyDeleteI bet contrails are "less white" than the clouds (but still white). There might be less moisture in a contrail than a cumulus cloud and it would scatter as well as reflect the light. Then the contrail would appear grey against a whiter background since it is less bright.
ReplyDeleteI think a shadow would be hard to see... even a solid airplane shadow gets small when you get a fair distance above the clouds. Have you seen your sun dog yet? The penumbra overlaps the umbra of the shadow and the light refracting around the plane actually makes a bright spot. Very cool.