Vapor Shots!

Almost any aviation photographer appreciates a good photo showing vapor coming off of an aircraft in flight. Vapor is formed when moisture is wrung out of the air due to a combination of humidity and air pressure… the more humid the air is the easier the formation of vapor on aircraft surfaces occurs.

Vapor can form when low pressure is formed during more extreme flight maneuvers, or in a disrupted air flow. On humid, wet days, airliners form vapor around their flaps as the air is compressed around different parts of their wings. Even on clear, relatively dry days, military aircraft can force vapor to form at various places, sometimes even on propeller tips too.

Here are a series of photos showing vapor on military aircraft, from the collections of some of our Photorecon.net team members, enjoy!