A-400M trailing - what?
 

Living quite close to Brize, we see a lot of Voyagers, Atlases, and, for the time being, Hercs. Today, something rather odd: an A-400M, flying a standard orbit pattern at 7000ft (according to Flightradar24) aligned roughly 280 (degrees) over Little Rissington, for about an hour. The odd thing is that it was trailing what looked like short contrails. At 7000ft?
A rather poor pic - but you can see the trails.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....8cd0b7ab54.jpg


Looking through binoculars, I could see the trails emanating from the wing trailing edge, between the outboard engines and the wingtips - i.e. not wingtip vortices, nor engine exhausts.

I even rang Brize ops to ask if it was dumping fuel. A very nice duty ops officer told me it was definitely not dumping, but that it was doing a trial. No more details.

Anyone else think it’s rather odd? Any ideas?

Yes OK, I’ll try and get out more, soon as Covid is over.

airsound

I don't know the trailing edge geometry, but it may be vortices from the outboard tips of deployed flaps. This is not uncommon on B757 at low speed high AOA.

Have a look

Thanks beardy, and Nutty - though I couldn't see any pic in your post Nutty. But I did find it on my phone, and for other peeps that couldn't see it, yur tiz

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....e25bfe9c79.png

Interestingly, beardy, according to Flightradar it was doing about 155kts. Would that warrant some flap?

airsound

OMG !!!
 

...
Airsound -

Whatever you do, don't go out again. It's a CT trial. Go immediately to your understairs shelter and gulp a handful of them potassium iodide tabs you nicked when you de-mobbed. If you think you have already been exposed, the last ditch remedy apparently is Prussian Blue. Unfortunately the Chemists are mostly now closed and they will already have your number unless you used a burner. Call back here tomorrow morning if you haven't already been spirited away overnight.

I will light a candle.

LFH
...

Thanks very much, Mr Flasheart, sorry, m'lord, for your timely warning. I'm hoping you get this, because here under the stairs the connection isn't great. If you don't see me in the morning, remember me to the Mods please - especially Mod Rob. Thanks

Don't worry about me though, I'll be fine. But thanks for the candle.
airsound

Yes, I think if she's a heavy girl and relatively slow speed the high lift devices will be working hard, so it seems fairly normal.

It's doing smoke trials, as it may be the next air frame for the Reds.:ooh:

You mean like this?

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....e4ccade14b.jpg

or this

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....64b493580a.jpg

airsound

Just chemtrails, nothing to see hear move along please.

The government will send a nice gentleman to your house who will explain everything to you... he'll be driving a black car.

Vortices coming from outboard edge of flaps which is what one would expect.

Havent you read the Posts about the RAAF centenary flypast?? The smoke pods are in for maintenance. Do keep up!!

That's going to need a lot of red paint.

No paint required. The public will be issued Rose tinted glasses - and everything will be Peachy Rosey...
Teej...

And when he puts his sun glasses on and pulls out a pen, close your eyes or he will flash you.

Ripton and teej013 - I wasn't thinking of continuing with the Red Arrows name. Maybe something rather, well, British - like The Grey Grizzlies

airsound

We used to call the Four Argosy formation team in Aden - The thunderboxes.

The Fat Lasses?

I do recall a formation transport team the last time I went to RIAT - might have been four Polish Let 410s? Long time ago now, I remember a sort of Prince of Wales Feathers as finale...

A four Argosy formation team? my mind has just been boggled!! :eek: