Exterior paint colors - white or other?

[Bill Boyd]

Originally Posted by rleffler

Yes, but realize that many designs are copyrighted and their owners don't want them duplicated so that their aircraft has a truly original paint job.

I know of a situation that got very emotional (not mine) and litigation threatened in which somebody copied a design without asking permission.

I've had two people ask me for permission to copy some aspect of my design of which I granted to both of them.

I used Scheme as well and paid well under $1k. The value to me was the 3-4 months that the designer worked with my wife and her infinite design changes. The value was that they had to deal with those changes, while I kept busy building.

I haven't had the pleasure of meeting you yet, Bob - but I already admire the way you tuck meaning between-the-lines A toast to your long-term survival and continued health, my good man.

[N427EF]

Getting opinions on paint is like getting an opinion on what you might like to eat.
We can all tell you what we like and add reasons such as white is heat reflective and darker color more heat absorbent.
Complex schemes cost more money in paint and labor but clever design ideas can highlight or reduce certain features on the plane. A wheel pant painted in 2 colors, one bright and the other a less visible color can give the appearance of sleeker looking fairings and the same is true for the fuselage.
Painting abrupt and contrasting stripes across the fuselage will make your plane much more visible but not very sexy, just look at a coast guard airplane.
If you want to be invisible paint it gray and add some good strobes.
Just play around with colored pencils and you'll see very quickly how lines and partitions can change the look of your design.
Both you and your father should draw up a few designs, not put your name on it and agree to have a family member "judge" pick the final version.
As to copyright issues, unless a design is actually copyrighted, (very costly)
there is not a thing anybody can do if you copy their design, especially not if the design is for personal use. I know, they can get mad.
"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" so copy away and frankly, looking at paint schemes for inspiration and making a few changes is almost as good as
coming up with you very own.

[paul330]

A point which some may not have thought of concerning heat -

In the UK, there was a mandatory mod forbidding dark colours for the cockpit top. The reason was that the structure could be weakened due to overheating thus compromising the seat belt mounts.

My opinion is white with simple graphics. Looks classy but may be a bit "quiet" for American tastes

[cajunwings]

Agree with Mel on this one. United Airlines previous paint colors, the gray and blues hardest to see on lots of days (even with strobes)compared to the other guys. Another color consideration might be how hard would your plane be to spot if you forced landed out in the sticks. Mine is going to be mostly white.

Don Broussard
RV9 Rebuild in Progress
57 Pacer

[longline]

is very personal, and a lot of people enjoy being inventive. That said, I agree with Mel... Yellow is the most visible color, so that is what I am going with. I am willing to accept that it will not be as cool and that It will show the effects of the sun sooner than white. But it will be seen.

[Mel]

Originally Posted by longline

is very personal, and a lot of people enjoy being inventive. That said, I agree with Mel... Yellow is the most visible color, so that is what I am going with. I am willing to accept that it will not be as cool and that It will show the effects of the sun sooner than white. But it will be seen.

Actually yellow is a good color all around. Temperature is not all that bad. When I was building a compost airplane (DragonFly MK II) I didn't want to paint it white so I did research and yellow was actually pretty close to white. Other color's temperature coefficient when up pretty fast after yellow.
My Bi-Plane will be yellow. (If I ever finish it!)
The biggest problem I found with yellow is that it is VERY hard to match for repair work.

[Kyle Boatright]

I cannot remember the source of this information, but it stated that if you're going for a high visibility scheme, the ideal scheme has dark leading edges and belly so the airplane is visible when silhouetted against the sky, and a white or yellow top for when the airplane is silhouetted against the ground.

Contrast against the background is your friend.

[Sam Buchanan]

Originally Posted by Kyle Boatright

I cannot remember the source of this information, but it stated that if you're going for a high visibility scheme, the ideal scheme in has dark leading edges and belly so the airplane is visible when silhouetted against the sky, and a white or yellow top for when the airplane is silhouetted against the ground.

I like that idea! A red tail is also useful for identification when the breakfast skies are busy.



(paint scheme modeled after one of the very early RV-6's and copied several times since mine was painted, no copyrights were harmed)