Have you ever questioned how the smoke behind a plane is made? The truth is that this question is more complicated than it might seem. In reality, there are different types of smoke, and each is produced in a unique sort of way. Some of the smoke you see following a plane may simply be water vapor, while other smoke can be the result of smoke flares or burnt fuel. We’ll look at each of these to explain the process.
When it is water vapor that looks like smoke, there are certain conditions that must be met. This requires a very cold and dry air at an altitude of anywhere from 6,000 meters to 12,000 meters. The smoke trails that follow can form condensation cores, which grow over time and can stay visible for hours after. These are also called contrails or condensation trails.
In early jets, in particular, dark smoke could even be seen coming from the airplane. This allowed individuals the ability to see planes from a large distance by following the trail of black smoke. This is no longer a typical sight as smokeless combustor can now allow a better mix of fuel and air, which stops the dark smoke from gathering.
The third type of smoke that you may see, and probably the type you think of is the result of smoke flares or oil mist. What happens is a particular type of oil is injected into an exhaust stream to form a dense mist. This is common with piston engines and jets, while parachutists and gliders often use smoke flares instead.
This type of smoke is common in aerobatic shows and can give an extremely interesting effect. In many cases, numerous nozzles are used with the biodegradable oil to make the smoke dense and easy to see. While it would be simpler to burn oil in the combustion chamber, this would result in black smoke rather than the white smoke that turns heads.
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