Close Pass by F14

[HotRoddin]

Originally posted by jj_jonathon
im sure someone else can explain what happens there...i knew last year, but ive forgotten...its REALLY cool though..maybe thats just the physics major's pov...heh

I'd guess thats a mach 1 or better pass. The pressure wave coming off the airplane compresses the air (high pressure) when the pressure releases (low pressure) the water vapor condenses ... same reason when the barometer drops rapidly (goes from high pressure to low pressure) it usually gets cloudy. There, you got a physics lecture and a weather lecture all in one
The weather part of it i'm sure about ... The fact that the vapor cloud around the airplane is the same process is just an assumption, so if its wrong, forget you read this