RoeFlyer

Hi All,

I am currently building a Chris Foss designs Wot 4 Mk3, any suggestions on an easy to see colour scheme ....

rickwallace45

My Feedback: (3)

Hi, and welcome to the list!

I've found color preference is a personal thing - here's what seems to work against most skies for the group I fly with...

(and my avatar shows my beliefs / preferences in action...)

colors - a 2-3 color scheme seems like a good combination - 4 or 5 if you're into pain...
- bright yellow remains yellow at distance to me (not Cub yellow, which goes 'black')
- white against many/ most skies (but needs yellow or red for definition)
- red shows up well in contrst to the yellow and white.
- most any dayglo color if that's your pleasure will show well in the sky
Blue, brown, tan, all seem to go 'black' at a distance.

Arrangement and Sizes of color area -- (as used on 2 meter pattern planes)
- Contrast between adjoining colors is key
- Small patches of color disappear in the air. I've found that a stripe less than about 6" long running the leading edge to trailing edge of the wing is just about invisible.
- I've found (learned from a flying buddy) that a 6" white wing tip and a thin white stripe on the wing leading edge make the plane MUCH easier to see and control - makes it easier to see the plane's real attitude when passing ( wing tips) and landing (leading edge stripe)

Obviously the patterns on top and bottom should be different...

Hope this helps -

Rick

majortom-RCU

My Feedback: (40)

I like two colors, one light & bright (white or yellow) and one dark (dark blue, maroon, black) for maximum visibility. White alone is hard to pick out against a cloud or grey sky, so it needs a dark color to set it off. I've seen color photo studies that make clear that multi-color schemes fade into grey beyond medium distances. Also, when your plane starts to become a speck, a dark speck is more visible than a light speck against most flying-weather skies (blue, cloudy or grey, but not dark storm-clouds).

For attitude recognition, I like the generally accepted practice of span-wise stripes or color blocks on top of the wing, and chord-wise stripes or blocks on the wing bottom. I heartily agree that white or bright yellow on the wing leading edge makes it a lot easier to see your plane when it comes below the tree line in setting up landings.

The six-inch block of white (or yellow) on the wingtip I would also agree is very helpful in flying pattern or IMAC.

The visual appeal of a two-color scheme can be greatly enhanced with just a bit of trim striping judiciously applied. A paired line of black and white trim stripes maybe 1/4" wide along the fuselage thrust line, separating top & bottom colors, does a lot to liven up an otherwise plain design. Small touches of a third color can add sparkle to a design. The Paint program on your PC makes it easy to try out three-color combinations.

I am not a fan of most ARF color designs. The plastering of every color in the monokote catalog in bewildering patterns on the typical ARF offers no help at all in viewing your plane at anything beyond a close distance. I have stripped the covering off a few ARF's at the very outset, and now try to shop mostly ARC's to save myself at least some time and occasionally money. That's one man's humble opinion.

FHHuber

Take a look at the MonoKote poster with "suggested" color schemes... The better looking ones will have 2 colors that contrast sharply wiht a 3rd accent color.

You can add more, but I'd only do it for a specific design (Club logo or somehting like that)

If you are doing a LOT of aerobatics... and especially if doing competition aerobatics, You want the bottom of the plane to have a VERY different pattern than the top. It hlps you with orientation and it helps the judges know for sure which side of the plane is showing.

An airplane with poor contrast is hard for the pilot to see. Military camoflage has a purpose... hide the airplane. It works.

CP140

I've discovered that almost all colours will fade to black in the sky... depending on the light conditions. Bright yellow seems to stay visible quite well. What I've done with all my planes is take a 3-4 inch wide strip of fluorescent neon pink and run that down the leading edges of the wings from the wingtips to about half span or so. I start one long side of the strip at the very leading edge and then pull it back over the front of the wing... that way you can't see it from below, but can see it when you're in a turn. The pink on the leading edge also helps on final when the plane is nose on towards you and disappears against the tree line!