Huge vapour trail
An aircraft vapour trail described by the Meteorological Office as probably the most dramatic seen in New Zealand stretched from south to north across the Canterbury plains for more than 200 miles last evening. Resembling a long, wide band of cotton wool emphasised by a backdrop of clear, light blue sky, the vapour trail was' left by an N.A.C. Boeing 737. It was flying at an altitude of 35,000 ft on a direct flight from Dunedin to Auckland. The trail, when it expan-
ded, left a band across the sky between 500 and 1000 feet deep, formed by condensation of water vapour from the jet engines into crystals of fine ice. High humidity caused the condensation and the temperature outside the aircraft was calculated by a Weather Office spokesman as- minus 72 degrees F. Vapour trails were not uncommonly left by Air Force aircraft flying over the Southern Alps but a trail of this magnitude and length had not before been seen in Canterbury nor reported from any other part of New Zealand.
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Bibliographic details
Press, Volume CX, Issue 32450, 10 November 1970, Page 1
Word Count
176Huge vapour trail Press, Volume CX, Issue 32450, 10 November 1970, Page 1
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