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B777 single trail question

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Old 8th Jun 2013, 10:27
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B777 single trail question

I spend a great deal of time watching aircraft fly over my house so I am familiar with contrails and similar phenomena. I have just watched a BA B777 at around FL100 inbound to Heathrow issuing a single"contrail" from the tail. Nothing was coming from the engines. It obviously was not anything unusual as the aircraft joined the hold for Heathrow along with other traffic but I have never seen that before.

I'm sure someone knows what it was and I would be glad to know. Thanks.
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Old 8th Jun 2013, 10:39
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Water from the galley drain mast.
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Old 8th Jun 2013, 12:02
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Of course that's what they want you to think. The enlightened know it's really this. Be very afraid you might choke yourself laughing.

Chemtrail Central

Last edited by Agaricus bisporus; 8th Jun 2013 at 12:04.
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Old 8th Jun 2013, 12:10
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Of course my first thought was Chemtrail from a cunningly disguised secret military craft!
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Old 8th Jun 2013, 15:12
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Not all contrails are the same. Sometimes it's moisture in the fuel which gives you a trail behind each engine and sometimes it's aerodynamic. The pressure drop over the wing causes cooling and you get condensation of moisture into visible cloud. You've seen this on takeoff when you have a very small temp./dewpoint spread and you get a mist over the wing. That's what I suggest you were seeing.
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Old 8th Jun 2013, 15:15
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5LY. Seen it many times from wingtips but this was from the tail. I imagine 763 Jock was right.
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Old 8th Jun 2013, 15:39
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I've notice many jets at altitude also have a single trail coming from the tail.
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Old 8th Jun 2013, 16:15
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Has to be a chemtrail...isnt that how the Royals keep the subjects complacent?

Last edited by FlightPathOBN; 8th Jun 2013 at 16:16.
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Old 8th Jun 2013, 20:54
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Watched contrails from drain masts while following guys on the NATS.

Contrail might be too 'big' a word. Water mist.

Water/lav leaks, hydraulic leaks, etc, etc, run along the fuselage until they reach the magenta line eraser(most obvious on 757 APU exhausts) at which point the airflow separates from the fuselage.
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Old 8th Jun 2013, 21:12
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OK folks. Many thanks for the input. Yes, "contrail" was a poor description but it was all I could think of and I had never seen the phenomena before.
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Old 9th Jun 2013, 07:35
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One fine day head 6500nm south to "downunder opera house city", in a A340-600, we had the oppostition over take us in a B777-300ER leaving a single contrail too, coming from off center, on the left side of the tail cone. I managed to sneak a few pictures in and saw the APU inlet door left side was open, thus creating I believe the excuse for a contrail off center. It turns out that they were running the APU due to a generator failure.
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Old 9th Jun 2013, 15:35
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jetjock330

You sure the APU inlet door was on the left?
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Old 9th Jun 2013, 16:06
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Conspiranoia!

Chemtrails i tell you!
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Old 9th Jun 2013, 18:19
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Sb SDO,
Quite right you are in asking, outlet is left and inlet is slight right of top side of tail cone.

I will look at it tomorrow on the walk around

Last edited by Jetjock330; 9th Jun 2013 at 18:20.
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