Paint colors and safety

I did a non-scientific exploration of this when I was flying RC a lot. That might not seem relevant, and it is different, but flying RC if you can't see the plane and determine its orientation, you're going to lose it. Here in upstate NY, there are conditions that make the typical mostly white airplane tough to see, like when it's backlit and you're looking up into the light sky or clouds. So I tried painting it bright orange. That worked great against the sky in almost all cases. But at dusk, it was quite a bit harder to see against a tree line than white. As it gets darker, you lose a bit of color vision. So version two was a mix of white and orange. That worked great. Visible against the trees or sky, in bright or dark conditions. It gives a contrast of color and brightness.

Another pilot said my plane looked like a creamsicle. Maybe! But it was really easy to see.

These guys have big orange tails, but believe it or not it doesn't stand out that much from the ground:

https://www.109aw.ang.af.mil/About/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/449363/lc-130-hercules/

They would be a lot easier to see in the air if they were bright white, but I'm pretty sure the tail is just for visibility against the snow on ground. Or maybe so you don't lose your aircraft if the snow is really, really deep.

Half bright white and half that color orange IS really easy to see.
 
If I somehow find myself in ownership of a 172 that needed paint, I'd have a hard time not going with a T-41 scheme.

T-41-A-2.jpg
 
3393RP said:
New paint formulas don't fade.

Check out Scott's new Tecnam P2010. If you want red, let 'er rip.

https://www.pilotsofamerica.com/com...d-new-tecnam-p2010.133681/page-9#post-3368049
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One reason I picked red was because it absorbs less heat. That may be something you want to consider:

The specific order from least to greatest amount of heat absorption is: clear, orange, yellow, red, green, purple, and blue. In conclusion, darker colors will warm up more quickly and absorb more heat in sunlight than lighter colors.

Scott
 
deyoung said:
Light blue on the bottom, mottled olive drab and light brown on the top.

:)

Seriously, I think yellow and lighter oranges tend to stand out well. I'll stand up for the minority and say that I don't think yellow generally looks bad either. :) Do you think Southwest planes are easier to spot than Delta?
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I don’t think it makes Southwest any easier to spot, just easier to identify after you have spotted them. My reported near miss with one, I saw it while it was still smaller than a fly on the canopy, and I even did another 360 turn until they were closer before I started moving out of their flight path. BTW Near miss to a Southwest pilot means they saw a glider, even if ATC pointed the VFR target out to them. I was close enough see the orange and blue colors, but to far to read see any other detail on the airplane.

Brian
 
FPK1 said:
One reason I picked red was because it absorbs less heat. That may be something you want to consider:

The specific order from least to greatest amount of heat absorption is: clear, orange, yellow, red, green, purple, and blue. In conclusion, darker colors will warm up more quickly and absorb more heat in sunlight than lighter colors.

Scott
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Albany Tom said:
I did a non-scientific exploration of this when I was flying RC a lot. That might not seem relevant, and it is different, but flying RC if you can't see the plane and determine its orientation, you're going to lose it. Here in upstate NY, there are conditions that make the typical mostly white airplane tough to see, like when it's backlit and you're looking up into the light sky or clouds. So I tried painting it bright orange. That worked great against the sky in almost all cases. But at dusk, it was quite a bit harder to see against a tree line than white. As it gets darker, you lose a bit of color vision. So version two was a mix of white and orange. That worked great. Visible against the trees or sky, in bright or dark conditions. It gives a contrast of color and brightness.
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I had the same experience with my rc helis. Up close, yellow or orange with a stripe on it helped. Far away, it didn't matter. With the sun low in the sky, everything became a silhouette and you were hosed anyway. Sailplane guys always had stripes on the bottoms of their wings.
 
Albany Tom said:
I did a non-scientific exploration of this when I was flying RC a lot. That might not seem relevant, and it is different, but flying RC if you can't see the plane and determine its orientation, you're going to lose it. Here in upstate NY, there are conditions that make the typical mostly white airplane tough to see, like when it's backlit and you're looking up into the light sky or clouds. So I tried painting it bright orange. That worked great against the sky in almost all cases. But at dusk, it was quite a bit harder to see against a tree line than white. As it gets darker, you lose a bit of color vision. So version two was a mix of white and orange. That worked great. Visible against the trees or sky, in bright or dark conditions. It gives a contrast of color and brightness.
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The military used to use white and florescent international orange for training aircraft. Before that, the Navy used yellow.

When I was flying RC Combat, and did my planes in black with yellow trim. On the upper wing surface I had a wide (about 3") yellow stripe from tip to top. On the underside, I had two very wide (about 5 - 6 inch) chord wise, about 2/3 out from the center on each wing.

VERY each to see in most conditions and easy to keep oriented when you are twisting and turning while mainly looking at the airplane you are attacking.
 
No data, but it sure seems like bright colors stand out.

A friend’s Mooney, for example:

7542698730_cf47bf8fc0_z.jpg

For similar reasons, I’ve worn nothing but bright yellow motorcycle helmets for years. Much more visible than other colors in mist and fog.
 
NoHeat said:
View attachment 115999 Yellow. There’s gotta be a reason ag planes are that color.
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Based on a sample size of one (and agreeing with Mauleskinner, Dbahn and NoHeat) yellow is the most visible. Flying with ADS-B In in an area with quite a bit of GA traffic and a big part of that Ag traffic, when a target shows up on my iPad, the yellow Ag plans are always much, much easier to spot. Try it on your next flight if you have Ag traffic in your area. I never have understood the early Cirrus silver/gray paint schemes which make them really difficult to spot.
 
FWIW: there is a reason trainer aircraft back in the old days (30-40s) were painted yellow. Per several old military studies there are several colors the human eye can readily see at longer distances than other colors with yellow at the top of the list. After the development of anti-collision lights and the "safety orange" color yellow aircraft schemes were retired from the safety side. But as mentioned above it is the reason behind crop dusters and even the J3 paint schemes. While some operators also used yellow for company aircraft colors to aid in visual ID tracking it is no longer needed but they still stick to its use.
 
somorris said:
Based on a sample size of one (and agreeing with Mauleskinner, Dbahn and NoHeat) yellow is the most visible. Flying with ADS-B In in an area with quite a bit of GA traffic and a big part of that Ag traffic, when a target shows up on my iPad, the yellow Ag plans are always much, much easier to spot. Try it on your next flight if you have Ag traffic in your area. I never have understood the early Cirrus silver/gray paint schemes which make them really difficult to spot.
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The Cirrus visual design philosophy has very little to do with what is practical. They look sleek and classy, which is what appeals to their typical clientele. There are a lot more silver/grey Porsche and Mercedes out there than bright yellow ones.
 
For resale value? Stay close to a factory paint scheme. Not necessarily the correct year.

Color choice for safety should be about finding a downed airplane. Avoid forest green or camo. Whites with colors work. I added bright orange to my dark blue Cub. Paint is to find me. Flashing lights are to see me.
 
FAA's recommendations for obstructions (AC No: 70/7460-1L):

3.2 Paint Colors. Alternate sections of aviation orange and white paint should be used as the contrast in colors provides maximum visibility of an obstruction.
 
Aerobatic and airshow flyers are partial to red by tradition.

han2390_a20_pzsbizxv.jpg GOYK3396-sean-tucker.jpg

My aircraft is yellow with invasion stripes. I think it is pretty visible.

PXL_20220410_174229389.jpg
 
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BMW or MB did a study many years ago about the best color for a car to been seen in all conditions.

To cover all weather and visibility it was a combination of black, white, light blue, yellow, red and I think a couple more. :D
 
Stewartb said:
Color choice for safety should be about finding a downed airplane.
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That's part of it, but see and be seen is so critical in the traffic pattern that anything that improves the "be seen" component is useful, IMHO. (That's especially true when pilots don't really report their position accurately so you tend to fixate on that area when the plane is really off to the side of your field of focus. People seem to think that "downwind" is anywhere along several miles parallel to the runway rather than "midfield", or a direction before or after that entry point.)

As for re-sale, I think the high visibility property of an airplane improves its resale value - at least for the right customer.
 
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Bell206 said:
FWIW: there is a reason trainer aircraft back in the old days (30-40s) were painted yellow. Per several old military studies there are several colors the human eye can readily see at longer distances than other colors with yellow at the top of the list. After the development of anti-collision lights and the "safety orange" color yellow aircraft schemes were retired from the safety side. But as mentioned above it is the reason behind crop dusters and even the J3 paint schemes. While some operators also used yellow for company aircraft colors to aid in visual ID tracking it is no longer needed but they still stick to its use.
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Firetrucks used to be red, but now they are yellow. I assume that is based on empirical evidence.
 
Ed Haywood said:
Firetrucks used to be red, but now they are yellow. I assume that is based on empirical evidence.
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Some departments tried slime yellow and went back to red. Real-world results were no difference in collisions and near-mishaps. Anecdotal evidence also revealed that the public is slower to identify a yellow truck as a fire engine, even with the flashing lights. It may also have been the relatively weak emergency lighting back in the 70s and 80s when the experiment got off the ground. The LEDs they’re running now are so much more visible in all conditions, plus they have them plastered all over their rigs. Much better than a single red rotator. They’ve also gone back to the big mechanical siren on the front bumper, and real air horns. They kept the electronic sirens, but the growler is the real attention-getter.
 
Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe said:
Other than a wig-wag landing light, I don't think I have ever noticed the "anti-collision" light on an aircraft in flight during the day. Perhaps it's just me. Is it?
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Agree! For me a traditional flashing red beacon is noticeable on ground ops in normal daylight. eg. When an airplane is starting up on the hangar row or ramp.

The new super bright LED Beacons seem more noticeable, but the point still stands. Intensity of a Beacon only carries a few hundred feet, thus why we don't see them in day time VFR a mile away in the pattern.

From head-on, wig-waging landing & taxi lights stand out just short of firing flares.
 
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@Albany Tom I'm getting my plane repainted in a month, and also looking at schemes and colors for ease of being spotted. I'd suggest using your own eyes in the pattern. When a plane stands out... why does it stand out or pop to your attention?

For me it's usually a simple highly contrasting pattern which grabs attention in the sun, like red wing tips on vestal or Matterhorn white wings for a specific example.
 
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Production efficiency drives factory paint schemes. Swapping out colors on an assembly line wastes paint and labor. Most efficient approach is paint everything one color, then customize at the end. That also allows bulk pre-painting of components such as wheel pants.

White has several advantages as a base color:
1. Reflects more heat.
2. Fades less.
3. Does not bleed thru other colors.
4. Makes bright colors pop.

So back in the day, when aircraft manufacturing was high volume, made good sense for Cessna and Piper to crank out white airplanes and slap some stripes on them.
 
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MooneyDriver78 said:
In the southwest I think the yellow would blend in nicely with terrain if you landed off airport.
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I think that's partially why our paint shop encouraged us to paint the C206 with bright yellow plus a contrasting color (in our case bright blue) as Vermont is mostly yellow and red for a few weeks in the fall.
 
Aeronca designed the Champ with visibility in the TP a major consideration. Hap was the designer of the post war Aeroncas colors and interiors and after a flight in the Champ, came up with the Lemon Yellow and international orange belly.
 
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