Color Schemes, the good the bad and the visible

[Terry Terrenoire]

Keith: I'm sure you will get many indepth answers with all kinds of
numbers attached to show the relative visibility of various colors, but
the bottom line is first find out what works for you. Some people prefer
yellow as a base, otheres prefer white. Either one will work, it just
depends on which your eye is more in tune with. That covers the "light"
color. next choose a "dark" color that contrasts and compliments the base
color.
Using white opens more doors. as far as the design, again a lot depends
on your personal likes and dislikes, as well as the amount of time you
want to spend on the design. curves look good on the ground, disappear in
the air, but take longer to do than straight lines.

 a rule of thumb I have been applying for 20 years is to make the wing
top 50/50, light and dark, with at least a 10% white wing tip. The white
wing tip, or yellow if that is your preference, will show up like it is
lit when you pull up into vertical.

Just my 2 cents worth!

Terry T.


On Tue, 4 Mar 2003 23:30:22 -0600 "Keith Black" <tkeithb at attbi.com>
writes:
I'm trying to decide on a color scheme for my new Aries. In doing so my
first requirement is that it be easy to see and easy to determine
orientation (level wings, etc.). After that comes aesthetics.

I would think as technical as pattern flyers are many hours have been
spent on studying this topic and I'm curious as to what knowledge the
members have to share on this subject.

In looking at a many photos of modern pattern planes I've noticed the
following couple of points that perhaps someone can comment on. Is this
for form or function?

1. Many planes have a "wedge" of color on the top root of the wing next
to the fuse. In almost every case the wedge is wider at the front and
narrow at the back, many times coming to a point in the back. This wedge
seems to be used both on planes where the rest of the wing has lengthwise
strips and planes where the rest of the wing has a starburst. Does this
wedge of color at the wing root help visually in any way?

2. Quite a few planes seem to leave a white leading edge. For example,
the traditional starburst pattern that flares out to the wing tip is
often and often times does not include the leading edge. In other words,
a strip on the leading edge left white (or the base color). Does this
help in visibility?

I would think there's an entire science behind paint schemes, colors and
visibility, I'd love to learn more on this topic.

Thanks,
Keith Black 
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