JollyPopper

My Feedback: (6)

Just a couple of threads ago, someone asked what was the most attractive RC plane ever. My nomination would be the Liberty Sport. However, I have a question about the airplane. Why in the world is the top wing yellow while the rest of the plane is basically white? Was there a reason? That top wing offends my senses. I built mine with both wings white and like it much better that way even though it would not be considered scale. It just looke like somebody ran out of white paint on the original plane and had a bucket of yellow paint lying around and threw that on the top wing.

tommygun32

Honestly, I don't fly. I do want to learn though and eventually will. I'm goin going to tackle your question as an outsider and using common sense.

Three reasons in my mind:

1) Scale....well, can't find any type of history on it. Is it a scale from original? The most hits I can find are based on the RC verions

2) If it was scale from either war, I'm guessing they were experimenting with colors. Maybe yellow worked well in the clouds or against earth colors..?? Imagine looking down from 5 or 7 thousand feet while it was hugging terrains...would you be able to see it??

3) From and RC perspective.....I would most deff be able to see when my plane has gone inverted....yellow is not usually a color you would see in the sky...or against a cloud.....unless you're looking at the sun, and that isn't a color, that's "blinded by the light"...[:@]

I don't know....like I said, I don't fly, but I will eventually. Got'ta learn on my way....[8D]

dug44

My Feedback: (2)

Isnt it for up and down, to let you know which is top and bottom?

JollyPopper

My Feedback: (6)

I don't believe it's for oriientation. If this airplane had been originally designed as an RC plane, maybe. But the original full size plane first flown in 1965 was produced in that color arrangement. Why? The pilot certainly didn't need a yellow top wing to tell him he was inverted.

Rcbargainunter

Maybe it is designed to be something that stands out from other planes, a certain characteristic that it would be remembered for, something that would intimidate the enemy.
I dont know any other reason someone would paint a plane solid white and paint the wing yellow?

tommygun32

Maybe so that his "allies" could easily identify him as a "friendly" and not shoot him down?? But then again, it's been mentioned the original 1:1 plane first flew in '65....so it wouldn't be used in a conflict area. Too many better planes at that time for that job.

Probably designer preference. Did it start life as a stunt plane for air shows? If so, it's orientation would be easily recognizable from the ground in that case...[&:]

balsa brain

Maybe it was for giving a descending plane something more likely to be seen. Weak answer and not likely but a thought.

beepee

Some early military aircraft had yellow top wings, like the Martin BM1 or 2 Navy bomber from the '30s. Don't quite know why that was done.

As to whether it is scale or not. I could not give a tinkers damm. I build my scale birds to look the way I want them to look. I take them to my club field, or events (non-competition) and I don't bring full scale photos to prove authenticity. My choices are usually not so common that someone would say, "Hey, isn't that supposed to have a white wing?"

Speaking of white - I hate it on my airplanes. Can't see them worth a hoot. I painted one of mine with a mostly white wing and it tends to disappear in the air. Disconcerting that. If you don't have that problem, I envy you.

Not many of us are intended to win a Scale Masters event. I know I am not and enjoy it.

Remember to have fun!

Bedford

proptop

My Feedback: (8)

The original Sig Liberty Sport (semi-scale ) paint job was based on a 1930's U.S. Navy scheme...

The reason for the bright "Chrome Yellow" on the top of the top wing is for visability.
The remainder of the aircraft were (are ) light "Gull" (as in Sea Gull ) gray...

The yellow helped fellow pilots see each other while flying in formation, especially in overcast conditions. Also, if the aircraft went down, it was much easier to see when compared to the ocean...or trees for that matter.
Quite a few of the U.S. Navy aircraft of the 20's and 30's had flotation bags or devices that would (at least hopefully ) allow them to float for a while if they had to make a forced landing in the water.

playntraffic

The Liberty Sport was never a warbird. It was a homebuilt kit. Experimental. The Sig plane is modeled after the Model A as flown in the 1965 AC Spark Plug Rally at the EAA's Rockford Fly-in.

Why is the plane done up in a mock military scheme? Then you have to ask why the Orion Pitts is red, why the Turbine Tucan is yellow, why the Russian Thunder is red white and blue, etc.


http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/N185L.html owner Ralph Belden of Nevada, USA
http://www.biplaneforum.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=167

Grampaw

I think Proptop has the right scoop on the Yellow top wings, and the reason I say this is that a few years ago a club member built a Yardstick and covered it all yellow. In case some here don't know or remember the Yardstick, it was a 10' span slow flying fun plane, built from a load of yardsticks obtained
from Paint and or Hardware stores.
One Sunday at the field the builder of this yellow monster fired it up and took off for a leisurely trip
around the field. He was about 75' up when all of a sudden he screamed "I AIN'T GOT IT!" He turned
and raced back to the Pits in a state of panic. His Yardstick was just droning away as if someone was at
the controls. We watched it disappear from sight behind some trees. One of the other club members who had raced off in his Pick Up to follow the Yardstick saw it veer off to the left of the highway and head out over a swampy area full of tall Oaks. When he returned to let us know where the plane was last seen, we made plans to fly over the area the next morning in hopes of spotting the Yardstick.
Next morning 3 of us and a CFI Pilot friend took off in his 180 to go find the wayward Yardstick. Our pilot, who was told we were looking for a model airplane was the first to spot that bright yellow 10' wing
of the Yardstick sitting atop a tall Oak. While reaching for his MIC the excited pilot yelled out "Hey look down there in the trees, it's a J-3 that must have gone down early this morning! I better call it in!" A hand grabbed the MIC away before he made a fool of himself, while the other two of us explained to him that the yellow plane down there was actually the model airplane we were looking for. But from our angle
of sight it did really look like a downed J-3! After we all stopped laughing we headed back to the airport.
After lunch we took 3 wheelers out in the swamp and retrieved the Yardstick from the Oak tree. Only damage suffered was a tear in the wing Monokote as it came down through the limbs.
Thanks to the bright Yellow wing we found the Yardstick quickly. But had that model been a full size J-3 in that tree, with an injuried pilot aboard we could have brought rescue people out in a hurry.
So, as Proptop said, those wings were yellow for a purpose, and it worked for us.

JollyPopper

My Feedback: (6)

Yeah, I am inclined to believe Proptop's explanation simply because it makes so much sense. But that bright yellow wing on that otherwise off-white (gray) airplane just looks wrong. I also agree with beepee as to keeping it scale. I built mine with the top wing the same color as the rest of the airplane and I love it.