Not sure how to feel about this...

FastEddieB

FastEddieB

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Fast Eddie B
I’m conflicted.

On the one hand, I don’t think I’d support regulation as to how we can paint our planes.

On the other hand...

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VFR, traffic avoidance is primarily based on the concept of “See and Avoid”. And someday you or I may be sharing airspace with some who intentionally painted their plane to make it as difficult as possible to see. Seems reckless. If ever a “camo’d” plane is involved in a midair, it’s not a reach to think that the camo paint job might have been a contributing factor.

Thoughts?
 
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I suppose with ADS-B, hopefully a camo’d plane won’t be an issue. But given the “see and avoid” training, I’d agree that this would be a concern. Heck, it’s hard enough to see descending aircraft in a high wing (and conversely, aircraft from below in a low wing), so any opportunity to make yourself seen and known is a good thing.
 
I’ve seen a Lake Amphib that was painted in a blue and grey camouflage paint scheme that would be hard to see in air or on the water. Foolish, careless, irresponsible, etc. in my book. Plus it just looks ugly.
 
Well the Berkut pic is a poor example. With that type of camo and gloss paint, it should easily be seen in the air.

Now, small dull gray planes would increase the chances of a midair but only in certain conditions. A white plane with bright cumulus in the back ground will be harder to see vs a gray plane against cumulus.

More of a threat with gray military aircraft with counter shading traveling at high speed on a hazy day or OD green helos at low altitude against a wilderness backdrop. Yet midairs with those types of aircraft aren’t exactly happening on a regular basis. Stop staring at an iPad and look out the window.
 
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For visibility, there's always the Checkerbird
 
There’s a plane on that magazine cover?


...oh yeah, I see it now.

Yep, camo- bad idea.
 
When I become benevolent dictator, all GA aircraft shall be painted day-glo lime with bedazzled tails and wings!
 
All my planes have been white with a bright red tail section. Flew the Caribbean a lot and wanted a contrast to the water
 
Not to worry ADSB is going to solve all your problems.
 
What about green paint? They're hard to see against the normal background in the eastern balf of the country, especially in the summer. Down Southm they bkend in with pine trees all year.

Looks like your paint regulations will be very in-depth and detailed, spanning prohibited patterns, designs and colors. :eek:

The good news is, for each new regulation promulgated by the bureaucracy, two old ones have to go away. So bring on some "unapproved" paint schemes, we need to cut the FAR bloat some.
 
F-4s were camouflaged but one could still see them...BUFFs too.

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In the late 1950s, at the prodding of DoD, CAA proposed a requirement that all civil airplanes be painted in fluorescent orange on at least 25% of their surface. I saw a few airplanes painted that way when I started flying in the 1960s -- that fluorescent paint faded quickly and looked horrible.

Sweden, I believe, requires some red or orange, either in the paint scheme or in swatches like this:

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mscard88 said:
F-4s were camouflaged but one could still see them...BUFFs too.

View attachment 59881
1200px-B-52Gs_taking_off_from_Barksdale_AFB_1986.JPEG
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"Octopus and Squid [and B-52s] use their ink as a defense mechanism to escape from prey. When feeling threatened, they can release large amounts of ink using their siphon. This ink creates a dark cloud that can obscure the predators view so it can jet away [pardon the pun] quickly.”
 
I have ADSB in but as a VFR pilot never use it for traffic at all. Always looking out the window, never in the little screen.
 
hankrausch said:
I have ADSB in but as a VFR pilot never use it for traffic at all. Always looking out the window, never in the little screen.
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Let me see if I have this right... You've got a tool in your cockpit that tells you about certain traffic in the area that you might not have spotted yet and you "never use it...at all"? That pretty much sums up what you said. I would say that is pretty stupid. My eyeballs can spot a plane at 2 miles or so if I'm lucky, and it's a pretty small dot at that point. I will take all the help I can get.

Reminds me of the guy who carries a radio in his Champ, but refuses to use it. I remember one day a bunch of people were complaining on freq about "the guy that wasn't making radio calls", and he finally used his radio to say, "I'm NORDO!!".

(not trying to sidetrack to a NORDO discussion - I firmly support the right to operate NORDO, but sheesh, if you've got it, use it.)
 
I saw a 210 in Florida many years ago at a paint shop and it was powder blue all except the top surfaces, it was a darker blue! :D I always figured the owner didn’t want to be seen! :rolleyes:
 
pburger said:
Let me see if I have this right... You've got a tool in your cockpit that tells you about certain traffic in the area that you might not have spotted yet and you "never use it...at all"? That pretty much sums up what you said. I would say that is pretty stupid. My eyeballs can spot a plane at 2 miles or so if I'm lucky, and it's a pretty small dot at that point. I will take all the help I can get.

Reminds me of the guy who carries a radio in his Champ, but refuses to use it. I remember one day a bunch of people were complaining on freq about "the guy that wasn't making radio calls", and he finally used his radio to say, "I'm NORDO!!".

(not trying to sidetrack to a NORDO discussion - I firmly support the right to operate NORDO, but sheesh, if you've got it, use it.)
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Honestly don't! Bought it and use it for wx but never traffic! Guess I am stupid. Plot a course, fly a bearing. Been all all over the states that way and never ran into anyone. Anything that is a 100% distraction to see, what, 80% of the traffic--is a dangerous toy. Don't play video games either.
 
Worst GA scheme I've seen was a Mooney painted dark gray. It just disappeared, if it was below you.

I like camouflage schemes, love to put my Fly Baby in one, but am concerned about visibility.

Ron Wanttaja
 
I have a mode s transponder and like the additional awareness it provides
 
One of the great ironies of my time in the Air Force.
They spent tens of thousands of dollars putting camouflage on a plane with two J-79s that could be spotted from the ground all the way to 50,000 ft, heard more than 10 miles away, and tracked by smelled if all else failed.
 
well with those military helmets you should have no problem gaining tally on these two TOPGUN 'patches' :rolleyes:. Remind me to choke myself if I ever get an inclination to fly my private airplane with military regalia post-retirement.
 
I think the dazzle schemes look pretty cool and have a hard time believing that the OPs plane would be any harder to miss then the boring white and beige Skyhawks and Cherokees flying around

Heck, it may even be easier to spot just for the fact that it's so much different

Has anyone here ever had to actually take evasive action to avoid hitting someone?
 
Next it will be like the codes that require all new fire apparatus to have the reflective chevrons on the rear of the truck. Like all the flashing lights on the rear weren't a dead giveaway.
 

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