Alignment of Engines on Airliner

[oldE]

Watching a four engine aircraft go over this afternoon, I noticed something odd in the contrails. The right side outboard engine and the two inboard engines seemed to be parallel. The left outboard engine was directing its exhaust a few degrees outboard. The contrail from that engine diverged from the other three for a while but converged again after a few seconds.
Was I observing a misalignment of the left side outboard engine?
It seems to me having an outboard engine directing its thrust at an angle to the center line would mess with the trim.

Best
Les

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by oldE

Watching a four engine aircraft go over this afternoon, I noticed something odd in the contrails. The right side outboard engine and the two inboard engines seemed to be parallel. The left outboard engine was directing its exhaust a few degrees outboard. The contrail from that engine diverged from the other three for a while but converged again after a few seconds.
Was I observing a misalignment of the left side outboard engine?
It seems to me having an outboard engine directing its thrust at an angle to the center line would mess with the trim.

Best
Les

That divergent one is the chem-trail the government is using to kill us all off. You know the random poisoning of everyone even themselves and their family.

[Pazuzu]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

That divergent one is the chem-trail the government is using to kill us all off. You know the random poisoning of everyone even themselves and their family.

You fool! The weird one was the only actual engine, the other THREE were the chemtrail machines!

Why only have one chemtrail machine per plane? That's not efficient!

[Norm K]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

That divergent one is the chem-trail the government is using to kill us all off. You know the random poisoning of everyone even themselves and their family.

Don't tell Hillary, as this is supposed to be a secret, but we people behind the curtain have been inoculated.

_

[Jolly Amaranto]

They are using thrust vectoring on the outboard engine to adjust for a jet stream cross wind. On the Airbus 380, one of the flight attendants has to don a special skin tight silver jump suit and crawl down a passageway in the wing root. Once there she has to turn a large crank to adjust the engine pod to redirect the thrust.

[john70t]

Chemtrails! (or probably just an updraft)

[abisel]

Probably not a misalignment but rather the effect of winds aloft and the vortices created by the wings at the wing tips.

Vortices will cause the outboard exhaust contrails to move outboard and then back inboard. The inboard engine exhaust contrails are not effected by the wing tip vortices and actually move down from the flight path of the aircraft.

Winds aloft (a crosswind) can cause what you see. Three are parallel but one is divergent outboard but then comes back inboard.

[Norm K]

Originally Posted by Jolly Amaranto

They are using thrust vectoring on the outboard engine to adjust for a jet stream cross wind. On the Airbus 380, one of the flight attendants has to don a special skin tight silver jump suit and crawl down a passageway in the wing root. Once there she has to turn a large crank to adjust the engine pod to redirect the thrust.

Are spectators allowed?

_

[recycled sixtie]

I am surprised nobody has said this. It needs an alignment.

[fingpilot]

I spent 37 years making those.

Think boat wake.

[LEAKYSEALS951]

I am John Conner from the future and you have brought up an interesting question. Shortly, a reprogrammed terminator unit will show up at your house on a motorcycle. Do not be afraid. Jump on the back. Your life depends on it.

[john70t]

The winglet apparently reduces the vortices, and thus less overall drag.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wingtip_device

[Robert Coats]

[DanielDudley]

Originally Posted by recycled sixtie

I am surprised nobody has said this. It needs an alignment.

Somebody forgot to check the lug nuts. The wingnuts are OK.

[oldE]

Glad to see some of you still have your carefully honed sense of humor.
Since I was not directly under the aircraft's path, but to its left I am guessing my viewing angle lessened the apparent divergence of the right outboard engine's contrail and increased that appearance on the outboard engine on the wing closer to me.

Thanks all.
Best
Les

[recycled sixtie]

Originally Posted by Robert Coats

Well done.