what kind of airplanes leave the white smoke trails in the sky?

Answer 1

Any aircraft that is capable of flying high enough where the air is quite cold, well below freezing. Its not smoke at all but condensed water vapor or ice crystals. Cold damp air is sucked into the engine and heated by the combustion process and blown out the back. As this now warmed moist air hits the cold air around it, it condenses into vapor or ice crystals. Much like your breath on a cold day; as you exhale, the warm, damp air from your lungs condenses into visible vapor in the cold air.
Jet engines do this most commonly now but if you look at pictures or films from World War II, you would see vapor trails or "contrails" out behind the piston engine bombers of the time.

Answer 2

Any aircraft that can reach altitudes where the air temperature is at or below freezing will produce vapor trails. The "smoke" you see is not smoke at all, but condensation from moisture in the air that is heated by the engine, then rapidly cooled as it leaves the airplane. Piston powered aircraft are just as capable of producing vapor trails as jets. If you have ever watched file photoage of bomber flights during World War II, you have probably seen vapor trails coming from B-17 and B-24 bombers.

Smoke from engines has greatly been reduced since the invention of the jet engine. Early engines did smoke heavily especially during take off. The difference is that smoke is generally black or dark grey.

Answer 3

As XP said. The jet part don't matter. The key words are high, cold and enough water vapor in the air that can be heated by the exhaust. Any exhaust, jet or piston. Those contrails are nothing more than long skinny clouds. Or chem trails if you like conspiracy theories. Not.

Answer 4

Any airplane with engine exhuast that's hot enough (in air that's cold enough) will create those trails...which by the way are condensation trails or "Contrails" as we popularly call them.

You can try it by breathing your warm breath into that kitchen freezer when you go for the meat or ice cream. You will notice vapour coming out of your mouth. The same thing happens high up in the freezing atmosphere.

Answer 5

Those contrails are not smoke trails.

They are caused by water vapor that freezes when it comes in contact with the extremely cold air in the upper atmosphere.

Whenever any hydrocarbon burns (jet fuel, gasoline, etc.), the main end products are energy + carbon dioxide + water.

Answer 6

Jets

Answer 7

Jets flying at a high elevation will do this as it from the air as it heat up going through and out

Answer 8

all planes with jet engines make them


the exhaust gases exit the exhaust side of the turbine at high temperatures and then the exhaust is discharged into the cold atmosphere(only at high altitudes at low atmosphere it does not happen only at hoigh altitude) and condenses forming the white trail that you see

Answer 9

Any jet powered airplane, probably including any turboprop that can fly high enough.

Answer 10

The Cheech & Chong Aircraft-Bong Commander.