A few more thoughts..

Orientation is very important specially for a beginner..

As for colouring.. since the eye loses colour definition before it does brightness definition (have you noticed how a plane looks a multi shade of grey at a distance?), you should make the top and bottom of the wing a different brightness (e.g. yellow and blue) as opposed to a different colour (e.g. blue and red, but the same darkness).

Also, striping in different directions is a good idea. Span-wise on the top and parallel to the fuselage on the bottom.

David C.