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Old 1st Mar 2004, 20:48
  #16 (permalink)  
cowabunga438
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
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just a couple of probs with that post

I don't think you need either temp below zero, or super saturated air.

Certainly supersaturated air will help, but you can get contrails at an ambient RH of less than 100% because you put more water into the air (and thus can rise the local RH to above 100%).

If the air is supersaturated you do not need to add any water - just add condensation nuclei.

Non supersatured air will also form contrails behind wingtips/flaps etc because the wing changes local RH.

The temp is also irrelevant. You can get contrails at above 0 degrees. Relative humidity is the important thing.

You can get condensation about the wing tips of aircraft near the ground on hot balmy days in poor weather (RH basically almost 100%). You are less likely to get contrails behind an engine in these conditions because the exhaust is hot (so lowers local RH). At altitude the exhaust quickly cools.
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