Aero-Terms!

Designed to be a daily reminder of the terms, names, acronyms and explanations of the unique language that populates the aviation world, ANN Contributor Aleta "I'm Not Making An Asterisk Of Myself" Vinas will be selecting... and presenting unique aeronautical terms each day from all tiers of the aviation world...

Aerospace, sport aviation, fixed wing, helo, you name it... it's all fair game and with a full year's selection already coming together, we can assure you that Aero-Terms should serve as a quick but intriguing reminder of the terms you may use every day or an introduction to an aspects of the Aero-World you may not yet be familiar with. ANN also encourages readers to go beyond the FMI link, and further research any intriguing terms.

Cool, no?

Suggestions for future Aero-Terms are ALWAYS welcome, as are additions or discussion of the explanations given for each Aero-Term.

Contrail

Condensation trail artificial clouds made by the exhaust of jet aircraft or wingtip vortices which precipitate a stream of tiny ice crystals in moist, frigid upper air. They are the cloud-like trails of water vapor that can be seen in the wake of airplanes, either from their exhaust or sometimes from their wing tips. Conspiracy theorists can give other definitions of contrails. 

FMI: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contrail