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Aircraft/Battlefield 2 Question

PeteRoy

Senior member
What are the white lines airplanes produce on each side of their wings?

I've seen it on GTA San Andreas and now I see it on Battlefield 2, what is it exactly?

View a screenshot

Thank you.
 
just a special effect, it happens with real planes as well. It has something to do with the air and "cutting it", I'm no expert so..
 
Contrails. Happens in real life at the right altitude and if air conditions are just right. Also happens in high speed manuevers, such as those that fighter jets would perform. Contrails form at the leading edge of the wing and flow over the with structure as G loads increase.
 
Originally posted by: goku
just a special effect, it happens with real planes as well. It has something to do with the air and "cutting it", I'm no expert so..


Wingtip turbulence...it's why newer airliners have (and older ones have been retrofitted) with those little winglets on the tips of the wings.
 
A rather specific answer can be found here:
Wing Vorticies

It pretty much is a combination of different pressue between upper and lower tips of the wings causing a violent disturbance resulting in white trails from wings.
 
In some game (something Flanker) the wingtip trails were colored differently so that you could "follow" easily some acrobatics. It might have been configurable, but it looked nice (like having a red and a blue smoke generator on the tip of each wing)
 
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