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Where Did You Come Up With Your Paint Scheme?

turbo

Well Known Member
These custom built planes we fly interest me first in the panels then the paint jobs. Where did yours come from? There should be some great stories here.:)
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The fellow who built my plane had no idea:confused: how to paint it until he saw a King Air on the ramp. They did a great job of duplicating it. A boat builder in Stuart FL did the matterhorn white, the builder did the imron black and gold metalic trim with a clear coat. It has held up great except the tank blisters. I love my RV and expect to keep it forever.:rolleyes:
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It is truly amazing walking the RV line at a big airshow. Every year the designs get better, bigger, bolder, and more "out there"

I love every one. Each one has it's place and someone put a ton of thought in it.

Who am I to judge?

I just picked one I liked and went with it.
 
There's a story for sure...

I grew up with this one in the backyard as it underwent a 14 year restoration, so it had a pretty big impact on me at the time (didn't everybody grow up with an airplane in the back yard?). I really tried to keep the RV scheme as close as I could to the specs at the time including roundels sizing, marking placement, and colors, but had to incorporate the "compass rose" insignia which started appearing when the Yales were transitioned to overall Yellow. There's a lengthy story around this particular airplane starting in 1939, that I've captured here:

http://adap.com/rv7/YalePaint.htm

The Yale was pretty much totaled in 2000 and at the time I had Grady paint the RV, I figured the Yale would never fly again. Well, never say never, it's currently undergoing a restoration so there's a good chance we'll see a really interesting formation flight in the next couple years.

The photo below was taken in 1991 about the time Dad and I flew down to Sun-N-Fun where it won best Trainer/ Liason.

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I painted my 8 in Honor of Lt. Robert " Punchy" Powell a fighter pilot with the 352nd FG and 328th FS, he flew 9hrs on D day. All in all a amazing guy:)



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I built mine with great pride along with "JB" (building his RV6) who was in the 174TFW NYANG, Syracuse. I was patriotic well before September 11, 2001 and this tribute to the 174th TFW was complete to their markings, 2 tone grays, Cobra Tail art, MK82s under wings, and as it was 1st flown Nov 7, 1999. Also added here where my youngest son Tim performed his full gig night solo night for the troops there at the KSYR Hancock Mil-base-club. Here is Col. JB (ret'd) & Tim on stage there thru some of it (@ 2015).
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That is the fun part

In my youth I was a competitive model builder (AMA 1967) and aerobatic control line models were very similar in general configuration to RV's. I developed paint schemes for many of them and had a good idea of what works for me. In 1987 I designed the color scheme for our Archer II which was painted by Corona Aero Refinishers at Chino, California and that worked out great in red with silver and black trim. I had no question about designing the paint scheme for our RV-6A. I made MANY copies of the three view drawings in the builder's manual. During the eight years of building I sketched probably one hundred different layouts and reproduced many of the ones I liked. Then I used colored pencils and crayons to come up with the best color combinations just like a kid with a coloring book. Then I made full size paper patterns of the winner and taped them to the airplane. Some parts of the design did not translate well to the full size application so I modified them until they were right. Then I checked pricing with several aircraft painters in Arkansas and selected Gray's Aircraft Refinishers at Ozark, Arkansas. I made up a 30-40 page power point file that described every detail including the dimensions and Imron color numbers and made it part of the contract. I also provided the full size patterns. The result was unique and beautiful from my perspective.

I think it is a big mistake to simply copy another airplane's paint job for several reasons. First, you are denying yourself the oportunity to create something special and second, you take away the copied airplane's uniqueness. This is a job that you can really work on and achieve something special with very little risk - just keep sketching and coloring until it pops out at you as the one you can be proud of.

Bob Axsom
 
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Practical considerations

Guess I don't have that much poetry in me. From the beginning I thought about how easy the airplane would be to see. I don't remember if I tried to research it that much but I did have a strong feeling, from experience, that black is an easy color to see when looking up and white is a easy color to see when looking down. Ok, that makes it pretty simple, black bottom and white top. Well, I figured it did need to be broken up a bit. What are you going to do? Purple is the obvious color, isn't it? The purple is Jet-Glo "FedEx Purple."

When people asked, and I told them that it was going to be black, white and purple, I saw them shrivel up when I said purple, but I am happy with it and I think it has worn well over time. I do think some of the more flamboyant schemes can get a little old.


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I am not happy that the paint shop did not follow my design and I am not happy that the shop did not follow my instructions as to what to paint and what not to paint and I am not happy that I had to drill out some screws to get fairings off, after the paint shop put them on.

The lesson there is that if you want something done the way you want it done, you should probably do it yourself. I didn't have the option of painting my airplane because the TV repair shop where I built it, would not allow it. Oh, that paint shop is no longer around.

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Some nice looking RV's and Rockets out there, that's for sure! Jim P, that's a very cool story!! Honoring your Father like that is great!! Compliments to all the others too. Hey Flapjack...where's the 'winders on the After photo! :)

My airplane's paint is a borrowed, or hand-me-down story. I bought 'er just after owner #3 (a buddy) had it painted. The original plan was to mimic his F1 Rocket's paint job, but in red with gold & yellow flames, versus his blue with burgandy flames.

The story goes that the painter shot the red, then ran out of $$ and was about to declare bankruptcy, so no money for yellow & gold flames. However, he had three different colors of prism paint from his recent dragster project, so he offered to do some custom flames. Paint supposedly cost a grand a gallon, so the green light was given, and she's now got dragster flames that change color as you walk around it, or as I fly by...all sort of as an ad lib.

Now they're sort of part of the plane's personality, so what the heck!

Here's a shot of Rocketboy's F1, and one of mine, as it turned out:

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I can't take credit for any of the look but the race numbers and the tail logo...the rest is all Rocketboy!

I'll bet there are some great stories out there!

Cheers,
Bob
 
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Aviation Scheme

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Did you just color match this to the F-16? or use actual military paint?

I ask because military jets seem to have a more flat/satin type paint to them, as opposed to most GA planes with a gloss.
 
Bud

Bud Anderson and his "Old Crow" are familiar to anyone with an interest in the Mustang. Bud's son, Jim and I were squadron
mates at the Air Force Academy (Class of 1969) and I made it a point to look Bud up when it came time to paint my RV-8.
We met at Oskosh Airventure 2005. Bud wanted me to use the Old Crow paint scheme, but there have been so many copies
and I wanted something a bit different. I settled on the paint scheme of "Little Joe", a P-51 from the same squadron as
Old Crow. Since I don't know anyone named "Joe" I named my ship after my grandaughter, Isabelle.
I needed to scale down the insignia on the P-51 to fit the RV. Bud and I crawled all over the Old Crow with a measuring tape
for over an hour. The resulting paint job attracts old fighter pilots wherever we go.

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Here is Isabelle after her first flight in her namesake.
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Honda Jet

Good thing you live on the left coast. There are two of us on the right coast contemplating that scheme. Bret already has his paint and his prop is painted in those colors. Of course we all live far enough away for each other that Osh would probably be the only place all three would show up at one time.
 
RV Paint Schemes

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[/IMG]Hi all,
Here is mine for my RV-4. the plane is going to be polished with the red and blue stripes
 
Schemes

I love the Military schemes some you are using. They look great and are relatively simple. In most cases, they are a tribute some one.

My history is building and painting a variety of RC models. During that learning process, my mentor gave me simple advice. "Make the design flow."

So if you are not going with a Military design, plan out your lines and design. Since RV's are so squatty, your design can have a huge outcome on the overall impression of the plane.

The next time you are at a fly in look at the designs. You'll find many have gorgeous colors but the designs do not flow. Some look like the wings from one plane and the fuselage of another. Colors are cut off at the fuselage and tail with no transition. Another potential gotcha is the cowl. Be careful of your design on paper regarding the cowl. The 'flat plate' paper design often does not transition well to the real thing.

When I worked my design, I wanted to make the fuselage look longer and the wings look like they have greater span. I think it was accomplished. The down side is it was a double bunch of work. The only thing I really tracked was the masking of the fuselage. This occurred after the base coat. Time to do the initial mask, 70 hours!!!!!

Everyone is going to be sitting with their colored pencils and 3 views doing designs. MAKE THEM FLOW. You'll have no regrets!!! In the end, it is only a few more hours of work in the overall "scheme" of things.
 
AV8Magazine wants to feature Your RV Paint Scheme

AV8Magazine.com the world's premier free online aviation magazine has started a monthly 'Reach for the Sky' feature showcasing homebuilts and restorations.

The February 2010 issue features a number of RV's and we'd like to continue the RV theme in the near future.

We'd love to receive photos and info about your airplane, its color scheme, specifications and what it's like to fly.

email the info to me at [email protected] or [email protected]

You can log-on to AV8Magazine at www.av8magazine.com

Blue Skies & Safe Flying
 
The bunny did it.

I have it on good authority that one repeat offender in Az, who just happens to be a frequent poster here, was inspired by his fond memories of coloring Easter Eggs as a child......
 
Golden Centennaires

Here's the story of my paint scheme... copied from my website:
http://www.c-func.com/paint.html

It goes in the paint shop in just a few weeks... getting excited!

The story:

My plan is to paint C-FUNC in the colours of the "Golden Centennaires". This page explains the history of the scheme, and my research leading to contact with a couple of people intimately connected with this scheme.

One of the aircraft used by the Canadian Forces is the CT-114 Tutor. Until very recently, the Tutor was the primary jet trainer for CF pilots (now replaced by the CT-155 Hawk). The Tutor was built in Canada by Canadair (which later formed the core of what is now Bombardier Aerospace). The aircraft is perhaps more well known for it's role as a demonstration aircraft used by 431 Demonstration Squadron, The Snowbirds . What many Canadians in the generation before me may remember is that in 1967 (before the Snowbirds) the Tutor was used by a demonstration team called the Golden Centennaires. This was the Canadian Centennial year, and the Golden Centennaires were formed to perform at a number of airshows, including the opening and closing ceremonies of Expo 67 in Montreal. The Snowbirds were formed five years later in 1978.

The RV-9A vaguely resembles the CT-114 Tutor in overall shape (with the obvious exception of the "T"-shape tail of the Tutor). Especially with the slider-canopy having its front-located roll-bar, and side-by-side seating in the cockpit, the RV-9A more closely resembles the Tutor than any other Canadian military aircraft. This is fortunate for me, because I have always had a soft-spot for the CT-114, being that "Tutor" was my Air Cadet squadron's namesake ("822 Tutor Squadron") and that as a boy I was always captivated watching the Snowbirds perform at airshows. I had originally thought of painting my aircraft in Snowbirds colours, but discovered that another local Ottawa RV builder beat me to it with beautiful RV-8 painted in Snowbirds colours. Another RV-8 builder in Ottawa is planning to adopt the colours of the Golden Hawks Canadian demonstration team, who flew F-86 Sabre aircraft from 1959 to 1964. (Incidentally, another Canadian RV builder has painted his aircraft in the red and white paint scheme used for some of the Tutors in their operational training role). It was Paul Tambeau who mentioned the Golden Centennaires to me. After a bit of research, and looking at photos of their paint scheme, I decided that this is how I would paint my aircraft. I think it will be a real head-turner at airports!

I was able to track down Geoff Bennet, a former RCAF Flight Lieutenant who designed the paint scheme for the Golden Centennaires. Geoff and I spoke on the phone for about half an hour, and he loaned me his collection of Centennaire related treasures, including his original hand drawing of the paint scheme. There are some real collectors items in this stuff, which I have scanned and returned to Geoff along with a CD of digital copies.

I was delighted one day to receive an email from one of the original Golden Centennaire Pilots. John Swallow, who now lives in Vernon BC, saw my web page. John is building an RV-7A. Now I've been in contact with the designer of the original Golden Centennaire paint scheme, and with one of the team's pilots, and my excitement over this original paint scheme keeps growing.
 
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Not wanting to be like any other I knew of, I decided on the Air Force One paint style (see my avatar for design). Did it mostly because everyone told me I could not do it, it would not be allowed. To top it off, the model on the registration is simply Air Force 1, and the serial number is, you guessed it, AF1. May create some interesting tower communications.
 
Mine in the paint shop now. We worked on the F-117A during the last days of the "black" and thru the first Gulf War.

Here is a rendering,but we deleted the tail stripe and the star and bars are not correct here. Will be flat black.
 
Cowl paint

Did you get that new polished aluminum on a fiberglass cowl?. Where did you get it done and how is it holding up.?
 
Contrary Mary

My paint scheme is loosely based off a P51 from Big Beautiful Doll's squadron named Contrary Mary, also happens to be my youngest daughter's name.

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Brent;
I like that!!
My RV-8 is polished, and black DP primer on the cowl and canopy skirt.
I have no firm paint plans yet, but polished aluminum and black look best to me, and few RV-8 have it.
The few I've seen all look great to me.
 
Paint Almost Done!

Well, Turbo you have seen this one up close and personal but I thought I would throw it on anyway.

I bought the paint for the wheel pants and leg fairings yesterday (solid white) but I want to wait until I finish Phase 1 testing until I paint it (5 more hours).

I want to get some grass strip time before final painting. Just in case I mess up a wheel pant....;).

ps I love my intersection fairings....Thank you Jan (rvbits.com), no affiliation just a very happy customer.

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g, lookn very nice and classic. white on the wheel pants makes the maintenance issues easy. spent the day at valkaria airfest. turned out to be a nice day.
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I am very colorblind. I get none of the Ishihara plates (the little spotted circles containing numbers) correct. I have no problem seeing blue, yellow and white and I wanted to see my airplane the way everyone else would see it.

As far as the design, I went with simple. I prefer straight lines over curved lines. RVs are very short from spinner to rudder and adding curves makes them look shorter. Straight lines tend to have the opposite effect.

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My wife and me saw this beautiful plane here on the forum one day...

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It was created by Steve Nyman and his wife and I wrote to him and asked him if we could copy his scheme. He said: "you're welcome ofcourse!" so that's what we did and here's the result:

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We're so happy with this scheme, so we're planning to use it on your second -7, which is done in about a year.
Since that plane is named "Kermit", the colours will be different but the scheme will be the same.

Here's a photoshop manipulated pic:

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Note how Kermit the Frog forces his way out of the VS...

THANKS ALOT for the scheme Steve!
 
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While building, the rudder was sitting around the shop for four years and inspired the paint scheme.


I wanted to use the typical Van’s arrow but with a twist.

The white is from the ’99 Miata I raced for close to 10 years and the blue is from the ’99 10th anniversary edition Miata. The blue stripes on the wings are replicated on the bottom.

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At one point I thought about having it airbrushed so it would look like the blue plastic was still on it but that would be a bit over the top.
 
I had a nice design that I was going to do on my -4. But after being turned in to the FAA for possibly being a little low flying down a river and some acro (in a decathalon), I decided to go with a Piper Cherokee paint job with 3" numbers.
 
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the builder had no idea how to paint it till this king air came on the ramp. i checked the n# and there is no reg now. :)
 
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Military Paint Schemes

Are there any restricted military style paint schemes or markings for civilian aircraft? Do not display this or that on a civilian aircraft? I have searched but do not seem to find anything. My paint scheme which is almost finished is "similar" to US Navy trainer circa mid 70's ie T34/T28. I probably should have investigated before starting to lay paint, but have seen a lot of military paint schemes on RVs.
 
I was all kinds of worried about that (way prematurely, of course). I wanted to figure out something that looked good but wouldn't be a real bear to try and paint myself. I knew Mrs. DaleB would never go for a warbird paint scheme, she likes the modern swoopy-looking paint jobs that cost $15K. So I took her to Oshkosh to look at RVs...

She likes the P-51 inspired warbird paint scheme. Who'd have guessed? That will save me a ton of stress and money.
 
'Borrowed Horse'

The, 'Borrowed Horse' paint idea came directly from Danny 'Sky' King.
Danny's 'Doll' and my second RV6 first flew on June 12, 2000. I flew the first Borrowed Horse for 998 hours before finishing my RV8 'Borrowed Horse'

When Danny ask me what my new RV8 was going to be painted like? I said,,, white with a red stripe ,,,, similar to the RV6. He said NO, NO, NO!
Danny King came over to my hanger with a poster of about 50, P51 paint schemes. He said pick one,,, as he was twisting my arm behind my back,,,! Danny! I pleaded. I am not military! Just a toilet cleaner here at RV Central! He did not care. He said 8's look good in military. Pick one of these paint schemes....... "Yes sir"
The result is what you see today. Boy, do I thank Danny King, every time I get another complement on my Airplane. There are a few pictures on my web site.
www.rvcentral.us
 
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done

Here's an update on my post earlier in this tread:

Our second -7 where finished this Spring and here's a few pics of both our planes:

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So once again a big THANK YOU to Steve Nyman for creating this beautiful scheme and also for letting us copy it one more time.

I have heard some rumours that there's another RV somewhere (maybe a -9?) with the same scheme. Maybe the builder sees this and will post some pics of his plane?
That would be fun. :)
 
Here's Mine

Thanks also to Steve Nyman. This is our rendition of it. Just a little different.


 
First Time Painter

Here's mine. Wings have been painted (white) since this picture. Tried to keep it simple and copy the factory RV-14 paint job but altered it mid job. There was going to be a black stripe but the wife liked the look of the yellow masking tape dividing the colors and asked if I could change to what you see. It was my first time painting anything and it won't win any awards but I'm happy with it AND the co$t. Kirker brand paint (2 medium coats of single stage over SW P60G2 primer). I did it in the driveway in the middle of the Texas summer under a portable garage.

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Paint Job in Progress...

Should see results in 4 or 5 weeks.

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