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Black RV

Hangar 1271

Well Known Member
Does anyone have any actual experience with a mostly black paint job? I am seriously considering a design of that nature but I'm worried about the plane getting hotter than it might otherwise (or other problem as yet not considered). I'd love to attach the drawing but I don't think I can. I had a plane with a dark blue upper portion and that wasn't a problem. But black?

FYI, I live in FL.
 
Somebody call my name?
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My $0.02, it's fine. IMO, the bubble canopy is a bigger deal than the paint color when it comes to temps. The paint job is about 20 years old but looks decent for its age. I haven't seen any "problems" that could be attributed to the color or heat (aside from possibly a slight deformation of the landing light cover, but I have no idea if that's because of heat, wear, or workmanship). You'll see every scratch, ding, and chip. I didn't pick the paint on this one, but if and when I paint one myself, I wouldn't go straight black. But that's more because of personal preference and difficulty of keeping it looking sharp rather than it causing problems. If you don't mind washing, polishing, and waxing, go for it! I do like the fact that it isn't a typical vanilla scheme, but I'm also not a huge fan of the intricate wraps either.
 
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So how did you attach the pic? I have no way and it says posting rules: "You may not post attachments".
Personally, I have a Flickr account, and there's an option to share the image there. Use the BBCode option, the copy and paste it into your post as normal.

If you have your own website, or image hosting location, VAF recognises the IMG tags, so all you need is the URL ending in .JPG, and wrap that in a pair of IMG /IMG tags and it should appear.
 
Black Paint

Well, in his book Skunk Works by Ben Rich, he mentions how he one a quarter from Kelly Johnson.

Black paint dissipates heat fast. Guess why the Blackbird uses black paint.

Best regards,
Mike Bauer
 
Dark paint

Two quick stories with dark paint. Having built two Titan Tornados with one black and one white, the difference in skin temperature at Sun-n-fun was so great that you could literally cook on the black one and lay your arm on the white one. The outer skins would distort inwards and make the wing look warped when in the sun.

Later, we bought my wife an RV-3 that was dark blue. Same thing happened with the wing skins on it when in the sun. After repainting the plane yellow it doesn't happen anymore. I would recommend against dark wing colors after seeing this on two planes. It isn't worth it in my opinion and I much prefer the cool to the touch skins of a lighter color. Just has to be better on the structure not to be hot as a stove burner in the sun.
 
Visibility - an observation

Others have said that my opinion doesn't matter - just paint it the way that you want. I don't subscribe to that idea as I think that color of an aircraft can make an important difference. I want to make it easier for the pilots of adjacent aircraft to see and avoid me!

I live and fly in an area that has many general aviation airplanes in the air at just about any time when the weather is good. I have watched carefully as g-av airplanes passed overhead and have the following observation.

Generally speaking, the darker the finish on the BOTTOM of the aircraft, the more it is visible when looking UP and trying to find an airplane flying overhead. My aircraft generally red RV will be painted dark red on all bottom surfaces.

In the pattern, generally speaking, I can see an aircraft that is turning base or final best if the TOP surfaces are painted white or some light color. The top surfaces on my aircraft will be painted an off white.

My observation is that black of very dark blue are the most visible for the underside of an aircraft. As I said earlier, many people say just paint it the way that you want to - in flight visibility isn't important. I'd like to give my aircraft the most easily seen in flight colors. YMMV
 
I'd be worried about visibility to other aircraft with a black or very dark airframe, particularly around dusk and at night. To each his own though!
 
I'd be worried about visibility to other aircraft with a black or very dark airframe, particularly around dusk and at night. To each his own though!

Hopefully they have the lights required for night flight at which point paint isn't going to matter.

We painted our RV with Aston Martin Viper Blue pearl(a darker blue) on top and a tri coat white on bottom. Looking back we should have swapped them. So I did swap them for my other aircraft we painted a week thereafter with the white on top and black on bottom. Much better with keeping the cabin cooler in the Florida sun.
 
Use heat-resistant paint if you paint dark in FL

Amazing difference in skin temps on my blue/white airplane----my fuel tanks are on the blue section ---- I try to leave my tanks down when filling if I have to park for any length of time (>10 minutes) --- but still vent fuel.

(cannot understand why people buy dark-colored cars in FL:rolleyes:)

Ron
 
Dana O. had his RV-7 "Black Magic" run over by a C180/185 some years back. Since sold.

I had a back truck once and while it looked really good, you couldn't touch it after it was sitting out in the sun for a little while. That is the reason I painted my RV mostly white.

But as mentioned above, paint it the way you want. Just be aware of what you are getting into. (Pun intended.)
 
Dark color

I liked dark colors when designing my paint scheme but had the same worries.
Decided on the following. I am in Florida with a hot sun and haven't had any issues and would do it again. Arizona might be a different story.
wwn0wg.jpg
 
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Mine is mainly black, yes it gets very hot in the sun. But it is easy to see, black is the easiest colour aircraft to see according to trials.

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When I got her she was black and yellow

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I liked dark colors when designing my paint scheme but had the same worries.
Decided on the following. I am in Florida with a hot sun and haven't had any issues and would do it again. Arizona might be a different story.
wwn0wg.jpg

I'm pretty sure our weather is similar since your hangar is 20 ft from mine.
 
Dark paint

Two quick stories with dark paint. Having built two Titan Tornados with one black and one white, the difference in skin temperature at Sun-n-fun was so great that you could literally cook on the black one and lay your arm on the white one. The outer skins would distort inwards and make the wing look warped when in the sun.

Later, we bought my wife an RV-3 that was dark blue. Same thing happened with the wing skins on it when in the sun. After repainting the plane yellow it doesn't happen anymore. I would recommend against dark wing colors after seeing this on two planes. It isn't worth it in my opinion and I much prefer the cool to the touch skins of a lighter color. Just has to be better on the structure not to be hot as a stove burner in the sun.

There?s a flight school in Massachusetts that paints the wings dark, and the fuselage white so in the winter, the morning frost melts faster while keeping the cabin cool in the summer. Not really a concern on hangared planes as much..
 
Paint

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I liked the idea of a black paint job as well.

I bought a 4 a few years ago that had dark blue on the wings. It was extreemly hot in the sun while the white was barely warm. This changed my mind on the scheme I had planned for my 7. I decided I did not want a dark colour on the tanks heating the fuel and possibly causing vapour lock and oil canning issues so I limited the black to the fuselage. No heat issues so far and the dark belly hides the breather mess till I get it cleaned. The guys say it is very visible in the air which is a nice bonus.

Good luck with your paint job!
 
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