Contrail
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Contrails are condensation trails (sometimes vapour trails): artificial cirrus clouds made by the exhaust of aircraft engines or wingtip vortices which precipitate a stream of tiny ice crystals in moist, frigid upper air.

Contrail creation

Contrails are created in one of two ways:

1. First, the airplane's exhaust increases the amount of moisture in the air, which can push the water content of the air past saturation point. This causes condensation to occur, and the contrail to form.

Airplane fuel such as petrol/gasoline (piston engines) or paraffin/kerosene (jet engines) consists primarily of hydrocarbons. When the fuel is burned, the carbon combines with oxygen to form carbon dioxide; the hydrogen also combines with oxygen to form water, which emerges as superheated steam in the exhaust. For every gallon of fuel burned, approximately one gallon of water is produced, in addition to the water already present as humidity in the air used to burn the fuel. At high altitudes this steam emerges into a freezing environment, (as altitude increases, the atmospheric temperature drops) which lowers the temperature of the steam until each individual droplet freezes into tiny ice crystal. These millions of tiny ice crystals form the contrails. The time the steam/water droplets take to freeze accounts for the contrail forming some way behind the aircraft's engines.

2. The wings of an airplane cause a drop in air pressure in the vicinity of the wing (this is partly what allows a plane to fly). This drop in air pressure brings with it a drop in temperature, which can cause water to condense out of the air and form a contrail.

Exhaust contrails tend to be more stable and long-lasting than wing-tip contrails, which are often disrupted by the aircraft's wake and are commonly very short-lived.

Doc wrote:I know, it's a really stupid question...but, I see it all the time....what is this contrail thingy? I thought it was the white pus trail left behind by high flying aircraft....but methinks I'm missing something?

Babel Fish wrote:

Doc wrote:I know, it's a really stupid question...but, I see it all the time....what is this contrail thingy? I thought it was the white pus trail left behind by high flying aircraft....but methinks I'm missing something?

There are others here that can give you a more accurate, detailed answer but here's the readers digest version (as I understand it)...

Contrail is a Calgary based aviation consultation firm headed by a pilot wannabe who couldn't make it in the industry so he started this firm which tells the oil companies (and anyone else who requires charter services and doesn't know anyting about aviation) what the minimum requirements should be of the crews that are flying around their executives. Basically he's making a boatload of cash by playing of of the ignorance of others. Makes getting a job in YYC a colossal pain in the ass (ie. he's the reason why the minimums are so high in Calgary as compared to the rest of the country). At least that's my take on the company.

Babel Fish wrote:
Contrail is a Calgary based aviation consultation firm headed by a pilot wannabe who couldn't make it in the industry so he started this firm which tells the oil companies (and anyone else who requires charter services and doesn't know anyting about aviation) what the minimum requirements should be of the crews that are flying around their executives. Basically he's making a boatload of cash by playing of of the ignorance of others. Makes getting a job in YYC a colossal pain in the ass (ie. he's the reason why the minimums are so high in Calgary as compared to the rest of the country). At least that's my take on the company.

ehbuddy wrote:what he is doing is actually legal

wha happen wrote:KING AIR 100

Captain

3000TT, 1500 PIC, 1500 Multi

First Officer

500 TT, 250 PIC, 250 Multi

Carrier wrote:Scroll down here: viewtopic.php?f=13&t=34067&p=329799&hil ... ns#p329799 and you will find all the Contrail details courtesy of a helpful member. Does the SEARCH function no longer work?

Once the insurance companies have a base line, it ain't going anywhere but up from there

Living Sky wrote:The Certificate of Recognition program (Partners in Injury Reduction) is a joint effort amongst WCB and the various industry associations. Overall... its a WCB program, however internal/external auditors are trained through various industry associations and focus on their specific industry. Enform trains those in the patch, Municipal Government personnel are trained through the (here in alberta) Alberta Municipal Health and Safety Association, Alberta Construction Safety Assoc trains/audits their people, etc.

Due to the Industry association affiliation, many think its an industry recognition, when in fact its not... It was spearheaded by workers compensation boards. WorkplaceBC WorplaceAB etc. - in partnership with industry. For those industry sectors who do not have an association to provide auditing... WCB can provide.

http://www.hre.gov.ab.ca/cps/rde/xchg/h ... l/340.html

My understanding is that it started in alberta and moved outward from here... but I may have spoken prematurely on that point. If so, I apologize. However... this is in fact a WCB initiative... Enform, The various Safety Associations you mention are 'Certifying Partners' who have received the ability to audit their memberships. In effect, providing the services to their own specific industries in partnership with WCB. Hence the term Partners in Injury Reduction.

The industry should have jumped all over this turkey from the word "go"....now, they're pretty much stuck with the result of their inaction.

Too bad, so sad.
Widow, as far as I know there is nothing regulatory about contrails. Rather the brain child of somebody who has sold a parcel of goods to companies using charter air lines. I'd be just as surprised as shit to learn of any statistical relationship between the hours "required" by this snake oil salesman and flight safety, in any way, shape or form. The guy is full of crap. He has managed to sell his crap to the charter industry customers in western Canada.

The industry should have jumped all over this turkey from the word "go"....now, they're pretty much stuck with the result of their inaction.

Too bad, so sad.