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New Contrail Effects for CFS3

New Contrail Effects for CFS3 2026-05-30

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That is the name of my old contrail effect. If you install the effect lines at the top of your effects.xml, the old effect will automatically be replaced with the new one.
 
I did a Left Wing - Right Wing comparison of these new contrails (fx_contrail_1, 2, 3, 4) with fx_high_contrail that was included in the Combined Effects Package Combined Effects Mod

Very similar after they fully develop, but these new ones get big and fluffy more quickly (closer to real life experience). The new ones also activate at a slightly lower altitude, than what we previously suggested to be used (20k versus 25k which is actually variable with the time of year anyway)

cfs3 2026-05-31 08-48-04 Before.jpg
 
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Yeah, you're right about the altitude Andy, should be around 7500 m.

I noticed an interesting thing today looking through flak photos. There are photos of B-17s flying in flak. There are photos of B-17s with contrails. I have not yet seen a photo of B-17s with contrails flying through flak.
 
That's is indeed very interesting. I'll have to do some research to see if there is a physical reason for that, or just a coincidence.

Found just one shot with both.
1780432726743.png

88mm Flak was tactically ineffective above 26,000 ft, so the bombers that were producing the highly visible contrail tracks generally tried to stay above that. Contrails could be produced as low as 16,000 ft in the most adverse conditions (coldest part of winter).
 
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Something looks really odd about that flak for some reason.

Yeah, 88mm wasn't as effective at those heights, but they also had a fair amount of 105mm and even 128mm, which could reach up there better.
 
OK having issues with contrails only showing at high altitude with some ac such as the Mosquito_NFXII, See xdp and my shaders entry
[HighAltSprite]
tr_condenstrail_basis1.dds=6300|300
tr_condenstrail_basis2.dds=6300|300
vortice_low.dds=1400|-300
vortice.dds=1400|-300
dh_contrail_1.dds=6300|300
dh_contrail_2.dds=6300|300
dh_contrail_3.dds=6300|300
dh_contrail_4.dds=6300|300
 

Attachments

  • Mosquito_NFXII.txt
    25.1 KB · Views: 3
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Yes, those settings would have the contrails start to become visible at 20,669 ft and be fully developed at 21,654 ft.
 
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