Contrails Over Perth

Contrails Over Perth

Spotting a contrail over Perth is a hit and miss affair. Spontaneous sightings are so uncommon, they rank behind wayward meteorites, and alien spacecraft. You stand a better chance of glimpsing Elvis Presley in your local lunch bar, than spotting a vapour trail over Perth.

Being the world’s most sunniest capital city, and enjoying vivid blue skies, you would logically think spotting a vapour trail would be a simple matter of looking skywards. Unfortunately if you are a contrail enthusiast, and who isn’t, it is much more problematic.

To understand why Perth is so contrail challenged, it is necessary to examine the conditions favourable for their formation.

A typical blue sky over the Perth CBD.

Blue Skies.......smiling at me......nothing but blue skies......do I see.

UU 772 contrail and aircraft.

Contrail Formation Over Perth

In Perth we require an aircraft to be flying overhead, preferably at an altitude greater than eight kilometres. Now, that’s high! Only at these lofty heights is the temperature below 40C, and conducive to vapour trails forming behind the heated exhaust of aircraft engines. The exhaust from the engines releases hot water vapour, which pushes the existing water content of the colder air beyond the saturation point. It is at this point that the vapour condenses into tiny water droplets, which form the contrails we see from the ground. In the cold temperatures of the high altitudes, these water droplets freeze instantly into ice crystals, which reflect sunlight and become very visible.

Air Austral UU 772: 11km above Perth en-route to Reunion Island.

Econotrails - The Budget Contrail Contrails can also be formed around the wing tips, where a drop in air pressure reduces the surrounding air temperature. This can force the water content of the air to condense into vapour trails. These trails generally occur during humid days at the lower altitudes, and are usually observed when planes takeoff and land. Onboard, they can only be viewed from the cheaper window seats behind the wing, and are sometimes referred to as Econotrails. First Class passengers can see the occasional Cointreau, which only appear forward of the economy section on long flights.

Why are contrails so rare over Perth?
Location...Location...Location! or is that... Isolation...Isolation...Isolation!

Sightings of contrails are so rare, they have been reported as mystery objects.

Perth is the most isolated continental capital city in the world, meaning 99.99% of our air traffic is at low altitude. Everybody is generally just taking off, or landing. Very few flights cross over Perth at the high altitudes necessary to form contrails. With the Indian Ocean to our west, Antarctica down south, and the vast Australian outback to the north-east, flying over Perth to another destination is a very long haul. Some carriers make these flights, though they are relatively rare. After travelling great distances, it is unusual for the flight path to be directly over Perth, and coincide with our daylight hours. With the effect of the global economic recession, many airlines have now been reducing their flights.

Life On Perth has been busy checking out the flight schedules of international airlines, and have uncovered the elusive 0.01% that might just fly over Perth. Knowing when to look, removes some of the chance, though we still can't guarantee you’ll get lucky. It’s a bit like visiting Loch Ness, and expecting to see the monster at 2:30pm sharp.

The Contrail Candidates

Etihad EY 460.

All times are local

Emirates EK 408


Spot the logo?

This flight departs Dubai Airport (DXB) at 2:40am each morning, and is scheduled to arrive at Tullamarine Airport, Melbourne (MEL), at 10:05pm the same day. Expect it to cross over Perth at around 5:00pm. Increase your chances by keeping a lookout between 4:20pm and 5:40pm. If it does appear, it is usually 12km up, and sometimes slightly to the north, if you are observing from City Beach. It generates a nice short contrail from all four engines. If you are lucky, you can spot the Emirates logo on it’s underside. We have noticed that another Emirates flight EK 420, from Dubai, lands at Perth Airport (PER), around the same time EK 408 passes over. Don’t set your clocks by it. EK 408 turns around from (MEL) as EK 409, though passes over Perth when all civilised folk should be in bed.

Etihad EY 460
Etihad EY 460.

The United Arab Emirates send another high flyer over Perth around lunchtime each day. Etihad EY 460 departs Abu Dhabi Airport (AUH) at 10:35pm, and is scheduled to arrive at Tullamarine Airport, Melbourne (MEL) at 6:15pm the next day. Expect it to cross over Perth between 12:30pm and 13:30pm. To increase your chances of success, always check the Melbourne Airport website to confirm arrival times. As a general rule of thumb, subtract five hours from the (MEL) arrival time to approximate the Perth pass over. You could alternatively convert (MEL) time to (PER) time, and then subtract three hours travel time. Either way, the time you calculate is at best, a rough estimate. EY 460 turns around from (MEL) as EY 461, though you should be in bed, or watching late night television when it passes over Perth.

Qantas QF 64
A Genuine Qantrail.

This flight departs Johannesburg Airport (JNB) at 6:10pm every day except Tuesdays, and is scheduled to arrive at Kingsford Smith Airport, Sydney (SYD) at 1:55pm the next day. We reckon it doesn’t cross over Perth that often, and is not worth actively pursuing. If you are optimist, or just plain contrail deprived, keep one eye skywards between 7:30am and 8:30am each morning, except Wednesdays. You might just get lucky. QF 64 turns around as QF 63, and departs Sydney at 10:00am, so start looking up after 12:15pm. It is rather sad when you can't rely on your own national airline to "Qantrail" over Perth.

UU 772 & UU 771

UU 772's white contrail penetrates a cloudy sky.

The French have always had an eye on our coastline. Ever since their intriguing 1772 Annexation Expedition, they have been leaving relics on our coastline. These days, it is mainly vapour trails courtesy of Air Austral. They operate a twice weekly return service between Reunion Island (RUN) and Sydney (SYD). The contrail component is actually part of a multi-segment journey which includes a visit to Paris and Noumea. Add in the delays, and the fact that Perth/Sydney return flight times vary depending on the direction, it is advisable to check the current Sydney estimations to get your bearings. The UU 772 (SYD) to (RUN) flight is usually two hours longer than UU 771, which heads the other way. UU 772 departs Sydney each Saturday at 12:10pm, so keep a lookout between 2:00pm and 3:00pm. You have a second chance on Tuesday afternoon when UU 772 leaves Sydney at 1:25pm, so gaze skywards sometime between 15:25pm and 16:25pm. You even have a third opportunity with UU 771. It departs Reunion Island on Sundays at 11:35pm, and is expected in Sydney around 3:55pm on Monday. Keep an eye out from 9:40am to 10:40am on Monday mornings. There is another UU 771 flight, though it sneaks over after midnight on Fridays.

Air Mauritius MK 942

MK 942 cruising the night sky.

These guys change their timetable more often than their in-flight menu. What we do know, is they serve a lovely lemon cheesecake for dessert. There is a lot we don't know. Our latest research suggests MK 942 departs Mauritius (MRU) each Monday, and is scheduled to arrive in Melbourne (MEL) on Tuesday. It then turns around as MK 943 on Tuesday, arriving back in Mauritius on Wednesday. Both flights enter Perth airspace during the dark hours. You might be able to spot some lights moving across the Milky Way. They are both listed as non-stop, though now appear to have a regular "technical stop" in Perth. This minor stop over, somewhat reduces their contrail credibility. You would need a very good reason to stay up for these night cruisers. Always check the flight schedules for the latest information.

Fly-In Fly-Out Contrails (FIFO's)

Western Australia has a booming iron ore mining industry in the northern Pilbara region. Some of the bigger mining companies have established fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) services for their mining workers. While the majority of these flights transfer between Perth and the North-West, a few now fly directly to Busselton, which is further south. They occasionally produce a contrail over Perth, tracking north to south. These flights are impossible to predict, as they are operated on a private charter basis. They travel in both directions, and will usually return on the same day. We have seen them several times, and have noticed a tendency to track along our beaches. Who can blame them for wanting a closer look at Perth's white sandy coastline.

Santa's Sleigh XMAS 25

At least you can rely on this guy. He might make only one flight a year, but he will never let you down. No flight schedules are necessary, though having a 5 year old nearby is a sure bet for success. Expect him to cross over sometime on Christmas Eve, .........only if you've been good.

Unusual Perth Contrails.

If you spot EK 408 just after sunset, the sun's rays may still illuminate the high altitude contrail, creating a rather nice red hue against the night sky.

Pictured right, is Comet McNaught (2007) doing an impersonation of EK 408. While both their tails were illuminated by the sun, Comet McNaught was over 25 million kilometres away! We are still working on it's flight timetable.

Comet McNaught: Comtrail or Contrail?

EK 408 after sunset.

Comet McNaught.

Etihad EY 460 just about to disappear above some clouds.

Contrail Shadow.

Contrail Shadows
Pictured here is a sequence of photographs showing Etihad EY 460 flying over some lower altitude clouds. The sun cast a shadow of the contrail onto the clouds. The opacity of the clouds allowed the shadow to be visible from the underside. In three of the above images, the shadow can be observed extending directly behind the higher contrail. When the contrail crossed the sun, the plane then appeared to be chasing it's own contrail shadow, as seen in the image on the right.

The contrail shadow is now ahead of the plane.

These two images show a contrail shadow, created by Emirates EK 408 at sunset. The bright contrail disappears above the cloud, and casts a dark shadow well forward of the aircraft.

Perspective can be very deceptive. The shadow on the right, almost appears to be above the contrail. The illusion is created by the optical thickness of the cloud, and the sun being positioned behind the contrail.

Persisting Contrails
In this sequence the contrail left by EK 408, persisted for 30 minutes. Light winds promptly spread the contrail, before it dissipated into the evening sky.

Persisting Contrail at Sunset.

Contrail Coincidence.
It is most unusual for two contrails to be visible over Perth at the same time. Halley's Comet is more reliable! Strangely at 5:20pm on Sunday June 7th 2009, it happened. As the sun slowly set behind the Indian Ocean, two high flying jets passed overhead. Emirates EK 408 was on schedule from Dubai to Melbourne, cruising at an altitude of 12 km. Unexpectedly at an altitude of 13 km, a corporate jet en-route from the Maldives to Sydney appeared. For a brief moment both jets left visible contrails in the sky. The Maldives aircraft was an ultra long range Bombardier Global Express, capable of carrying up to 19 passengers in high speed luxury. You can just make out it's shorter contrail, above and to the left of the larger vapour trail of the Emirates jet.

		NOTE: Many of these flights are code shared with other carriers. Throw in daylight saving, and things can get really messy. Always check the current timetables for accurate flight information, and amend the observing window where necessary.
	Is that EY 460 or QF 315?

Etihad EY 460 12km above Perth 12:43pm 26/04/09.
Etihad EY 460: 12km above Perth 12:43pm Sunday April 26th 2009.

Conclusion: Your best chances rest with EK 408, and EY 460. Unfortunately they do not always fly over Perth. Sometimes they cross slightly north of the line between City Beach, and the Perth CBD. Air Austral also offers an opportunity, though does not fly over as frequently as Emirates, and Etihad. The Qantas, and Air Mauritius flights are for optimists. It is definitely a hit and miss affair.

Don’t be disappointed by failure. Things will eventually look up........
....12 kilometres up, that is.

Good Luck!


	The Chemtrail Conspiracy Theory. Supporters of the Chemtrail Theory contend that contrails are actually biological agents sprayed by Governments around the world to perpetrate evil on human kind. Have you ever woken up in the morning with a dry throat. Believers speculate that chemtrails might just be the cause of your annoying unproductive cough. If you wake up under the weather in Perth, it is usually on a sunny day with no contrails. It is hard to believe that Etihad Airways would arrange a 14 hour flight to deliver a chemical payload over Perth. In fact Etihad pumps so much money into our national football league, they wouldn't want to touch the atmosphere! The reason Perth has no mysterious chemtrails, is because we have no contrails for the conspiracy theorists to theorise about. There is nothing nasty up there! From our perspective we think there is a conspiracy to hide them! Where are they?	Don't be fooled by these natural clouds. We only saw Etihad EY 460 fly over once!

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