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Contrail and holding patter

limjack

limjack

Charter Member 2016
My family and I got to witness a cool oddity in the sky today on our trip from Seattle to Portland for thanksgiving. I notice at first a half circle in the sky and thought a jetliner had to make an emergency landing at Kpdx and was heading back to the airport. As we drove, the plane Continued to complete a circuit and began another, I thought very cool, so that what a holding pattern looks like for the planes in the sky. I have seen them on the maps but never drawn in the air for all to see like a huge live google earth map ...lol. They did run a article the next day as many folks wanted to know what was going on. Seattle was fogged in so a cargo jet and another jet were put into this holding pattern. I only noticed a singe jet on our journey and had wife snap a few pictures. The one jet completed 5 loops before it went along it's way. Fun stuff

Jim

 
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By the way, this only took me 45 min. To attach the photo with my iPad. First time. Had to have daughter step in and help. We did it though.

Jim

Holding pattern.....for title .....oops.....lol. I need a nap
 
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That is a neat catch! Your photo is better than the news one--a keeper.

What would their altitude have been? I thought contrails didn't form much below FL250.
 
Thanks Time and KellyB,

With a little research I found some info from one of the ATC workers that day......Multiple diverts to pdx from sea. Several have came over at very high altitude due to low fuel inbound to pdx. A couple were in holding over pdx waiting for the weather to improve at sea. The circle type contrails are from the holding aircraft at high altidue and basically spiraling into pdx. I'm an air traffic controller working this am. It's no big deal.

The contrails really held together quite nice.

The planes tracking kpdx at 30 thousand and above had very short contrails that day.

Jim

 
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