Vapor cone as seen from aircraft

[Let'sgoflying!]

Everything I read says, without explanation, that this cannot be seen from inside the aircraft.
T or F?
(If T, it can’t be seen - why?)

 

[luvflyin]

Everything I read says, without explanation, that this cannot be seen from inside the aircraft.
T or F?
(If T, it can’t be seen - why?)

View attachment 142976

F. It’s the speed of sound being broken, not light. Probably not that simple. Standing by to get edumicated

 

[Half Fast]

Well, I’ve never seen it while flying my Musketeer, so the statement must be true.

 

[Brad W]

well clearly there are no windows back there....

 

[Timbeck2]

That looks like an F-18. They have rear view mirrors that aid in the air refueling process so it is possible to see that from inside the cockpit

 

[luvflyin]

Sheesh. That ain’t the point. Let’s rephrase the question. Could a pilot doing reverse cowgirl on the canopy see it

 

[MauleSkinner]

Sheesh. That ain’t the point. Let’s rephrase the question. Could a pilot doing reverse cowgirl on the canopy see it

How would said pilot stick to the canopy at that speed?

Never mind…

 

[Hacker]

F. It’s the speed of sound being broken, not light. Probably not that simple. Standing by to get edumicated

Those shock cones aren't indications that the aircraft is going supersonic.

 

[Hacker]

Sheesh. That ain’t the point. Let’s rephrase the question. Could a pilot doing reverse cowgirl on the canopy see it

Yes, you can easily see these kinds of vapes from the cockpit if you have the ability to turn and look at 'em.

 

[Hacker]

That looks like an F-18. They have rear view mirrors that aid in the air refueling process so it is possible to see that from inside the cockpit

No mirror required for that.

 

[luvflyin]

Those shock cones aren't indications that the aircraft is going supersonic.

My education begins. What are they?

 

[luvflyin]

How would said pilot stick to the canopy at that speed?

Never mind…

Note to self. Don’t read maulskinner’s posts with mouth full of coffee

 

[AV8R_87]

My education begins. What are they?

The explanation used to be that they are Prandtl singularities. But they are just condensation clouds happening in areas where the pressure/temperature drops as the localized airflow (but not the actual aircraft) exceeds the speed of sound.

Prandtl–Glauert singularity - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[luvflyin]

The explanation used to be that they are Prandtl singularities. But they are just condensation clouds happening in areas where the pressure/temperature drops as the localized airflow (but not the actual aircraft) exceeds the speed of sound.

Prandtl–Glauert singularity - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Thx

 

[billsgs126]

No mirror required for that.

View attachment 142978

Technically, is this self-service or full-service?

 

[GoFly]

Technically, is this self-service or full-service?

Confusing since nobody is getting out and washing the windshield.

 

[Let'sgoflying!]

The explanation used to be that they are Prandtl singularities. But they are just condensation clouds happening in areas where the pressure/temperature drops as the localized airflow (but not the actual aircraft) exceeds the speed of sound.

Prandtl–Glauert singularity - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Thanks! I found the same, everyone used to call them Prandtl-Glauer clouds then they dropped that name (right after I pretended to be able to pronounce it lol).

 

[wanttaja]

Well, I’ve never seen it while flying my Musketeer, so the statement must be true.

Ron Wanttaja

 

[farmrjohn]

View attachment 142984

Ron Wanttaja

It helps to have an open(able) canopy

 

[RyanShort1]

It's more fun to fly into real clouds...

 

[Dan Thomas]

Everything I read says, without explanation, that this cannot be seen from inside the aircraft.
T or F?
(If T, it can’t be seen - why?)

In that photo, the camera is looking at that cone from the side so that the full width of the cone, at any point, blocks the light from behind it. From the cockpit, the pilot would see only the fore-aft thickness of the cone, which is relatively thin.

 

[GoFly]

My wife’s car does that when she’s headed to see grandkids

 

[GoFly]

Well, I’ve never seen it while flying my Musketeer, so the statement must be true.

Sounds like that new motor needs a tune up