High altitude flights over Sydney

[Warks]

No not for fun. I often see flights in the morning when I'm walking around 7am crossing the Sydney sky at very high (vapour trail) altitude. Some are headed west-east and others seem to be north-west to south-east. Now I keep forgetting to have my phone on me to pull out my Flight Radar app but it has intrigued me for a long time what flights these must be.

Regarding the latter flights: Any BNE-MEL flights would go well inland and not over Sydney. BNE-AKL flights would be over the Tasman all the way I would assume.

Regarding the former flights (west-east) - direct flights from ADL to AKL? Would be a very early take-off. PER-AKL?

Or am I missing something? Perhaps RAAF? Secret Black Ops 101st Airborne?

 

[casanovawa]

Is it AKL-SIN or somewhere in Asia, think someone has mentioned these before...

 

[markis10]

Try NZ to Asia and LOTFAP to MEL.

 

[777]

The 6am JQ NTL-MEL flight will usually pass right over Sydney. Probably a little earlier than 7am but would do so daily.

 

[nlagalle]

No not for fun. I often see flights in the morning when I'm walking around 7am crossing the Sydney sky at very high (vapour trail) altitude. Some are headed west-east and others seem to be north-west to south-east. Now I keep forgetting to have my phone on me to pull out my Flight Radar app but it has intrigued me for a long time what flights these must be.

Some would call that "Chemtrail" altitude.. sorry i couldn't resist!

 

[AVC]

It's the Damascus Express!!

JB747 may get the reference to that one, or maybe some of the other ex RAAFs here, but more likely a RAF.
A story a friend told me from way back.

Anyone intrigued?

 

[Cocitus23]

Sometimes our ability to guess the origin and destination of such flights is limited by our ability to visualise the world in 3D. In other words, great circle routes can be surprising. For instance, most days a viewer in Melbourne can see a high altitude flight moving from SW to NE, directly over MEL. Where could such a flight possibly have started from, somewhere down past Geelong? The answer is Johannesburg. The great circle from JNB to SYD passes over MEL.

 

[munitalP]

MH772 Kul/Akl

crosses around this time...



taken at Reevsby Tuesday approx 830am

 

[oz_mark]

Sometimes our ability to guess the origin and destination of such flights is limited by our ability to visualise the world in 3D. In other words, great circle routes can be surprising. For instance, most days a viewer in Melbourne can see a high altitude flight moving from SW to NE, directly over MEL. Where could such a flight possibly have started from, somewhere down past Geelong? The answer is Johannesburg. The great circle from JNB to SYD passes over MEL.

In some parts of the youtube fraternity, it is a well known flight........

 

[dajop]

For instance, most days a viewer in Melbourne can see a high altitude flight moving from SW to NE, directly over MEL. Where could such a flight possibly have started from, somewhere down past Geelong? The answer is Johannesburg. The great circle from JNB to SYD passes over MEL.

Yes very annoying when you are on that flight and look down to see Tullamarine only 11km away, knowing that it will take another 4-4.5 hrs to get there

 

[Warks]

Thanks to all for the replies. Some things I hadn't thought of. I can remember reading about the courses taken by planes not being based on the flat earth concept of bearings but hadn't considered how far the the round earth courses would vary from the straight bearing.

When you are down in parts of the Snowy Mtns all you see are high altitude flights (SYD-MEL) and there's a lot of them!

 

[albatross710]

Sometimes our ability to guess the origin and destination of such flights is limited by our ability to visualise the world in 3D. In other words, great circle routes can be surprising. For instance, most days a viewer in Melbourne can see a high altitude flight moving from SW to NE, directly over MEL. Where could such a flight possibly have started from, somewhere down past Geelong? The answer is Johannesburg. The great circle from JNB to SYD passes over MEL.

Spot on with that.

 

[flyingfan]

Yes very annoying when you are on that flight and look down to see Tullamarine only 11km away, knowing that it will take another 4-4.5 hrs to get there

I've been on the flight and saw MEL from above, knowing I'd need to come back to it later - didn't mind as the alternative was going via PER which was less appealing to me. Plus a (IMHO) better F lounge when going through SYD

 

[wazza888]

I have seen this too over Sydney but later in the morning around 10:30am.

 

[Aus ATC]

BNE - CBR flights will often operate via overhead Sydney

 

[Sprucegoose]

Spot on with that.
View attachment 13694

often down pass TAS. Down to 65deg south. You can see the South Pole occasionally.