I have seen jet contrails way out above the western horizon and seen them fly across the sky to disappear above the eastern horizon. I’ve always wondered how far away is that jet? How far away would I have to travel to be right below it? How far does it travel as I see it cross the sky? I can’t be the only person to wonder these things. Can I?
Assuming the jet is at 30,000 ft (typical for an airliner), and your height is 5’9", and you are looking out over the ocean (or extremely flat land), the answer is 216 miles away.
Here’s how to figure it out:
The distance to the horizon in kilometers is the square-root of (13 x height above ground in meters). You will need the distance to the horizon from your point of view, and also from the plane’s point of view, then add them up. Your distance to the horizon is 3 miles, and the distance to the plane from your horizon is 213 miles.
No way to tell, as the altitude is not known.
References :
Assuming the jet is at 30,000 ft (typical for an airliner), and your height is 5’9", and you are looking out over the ocean (or extremely flat land), the answer is 216 miles away.
Here’s how to figure it out:
The distance to the horizon in kilometers is the square-root of (13 x height above ground in meters). You will need the distance to the horizon from your point of view, and also from the plane’s point of view, then add them up. Your distance to the horizon is 3 miles, and the distance to the plane from your horizon is 213 miles.
References :
usually if you already see contrails, its already flying/cruising with a Pressure Altitude of around flight level 240 to 250 depending on the altimeter which the Airport ATIS report gives you.
References :
Contrails can be seen from jet airliners when they cruise at the highest level thats above FL350 which is 35,000Feet above mean sea level.
References :
Sim pilot