Originally Posted by
Twin Wasp
And the NoPac track tracks don't move like the North Atlantic ones do.
That's right for airways like R220 or G580, although there are daily tracks built similar to the NAT tracks. I tend to see the random tracks eastbound, and the airways westbound.
Originally Posted by
AZFlyer
Hmm. I had no solid visual reference point for distance, but it appeared to be only slightly higher than our altitude and very large (i.e. close) in the window.
Curious also, by what means do you navigate when over the ocean? (type of waypoints, GPS? INS? etc)
Thanks for the input.
Wingtip vortices sink at around 300-500 fpm and stabilize (at altitude) around 800-1200 feet below where they are generated. I'd guess contrails might follow that profile too. As for the navigation question, it depends on the type of aircraft and what airspace it operates (RNP). The plane I fly has several ring laser gyros, two GPS receivers, VOR, and ILS all tied into a box that looks at all the inputs and blends those inputs to arrive at the most probable location. That's the position it feeds to the FMC.