Well,..............It finally happened
02-11-2009 | 09:32 PM
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From: Reva,
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Well,..............It finally happened
Had the nexstar out the other day, beautiful weather, 50 degrees out, (february heat wave!) But the sky was not blue or really cloudy, just kind of a high cirrus that was greyish white, took the nextstar up and flew nicely, got up above the horizon and it dissapeared! just blended into the sky so well that I could not see it at all, I throttled back and pulled a little up elevator hoping maybe I would get a reflection of the sun off the wing so I could maybe locate it again, well i got the reflection i was looking for,.......... inverted and heading for the ground fast! a little down elevator hoping i could pull an outside loop......................nope into the ground upside down at a high rate of speed. I picked up the plane with scoop shovel and a broom. the end of the nexstar, crap! Ordered a new plane today, the escapade, looks like a great plane at a great price! Will hopefully fly that until spring, then I will take up the decathlon. Note to self, NO MORE WHITE AIRPLANES!
02-11-2009 | 10:18 PM
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From: Moore,
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RE: Well,..............It finally happened
I am sorry to hear about the nexstar. I really like the looks of the escapade, and want one myself. You really can't beat the price, and it's supposed to be a really good flyer.
02-11-2009 | 10:20 PM
#3
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RE: Well,..............It finally happened
"when one door closes, another one opens"
I'm always amazed at just how many planes are white and blue. The do look good, as long as you can actually see them.
Sorry for your loss (and welcome to the hobby!). Good luck and have fun with the Escapade!
I'm always amazed at just how many planes are white and blue. The do look good, as long as you can actually see them.
Sorry for your loss (and welcome to the hobby!). Good luck and have fun with the Escapade!
02-11-2009 | 10:25 PM
#4
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RE: Well,..............It finally happened
Sorry to hear about your loss. As the old saying goes, been there, done that. I know how it feels.
When you get into a day with the clouds you describe, color doesn't mater much. At best, you get a silhouette, unless you keep them in close. Myself, I like to be about four mistakes high as my reaction isn't as fast or accurate as it used to be.
As for the all white, I don't like that, even though I have one plane that has an all white top on the wing. The fuselage is white on the sides with a multi color turtle deck and a red nose. The bottom of the wings though are big, 6" wide bars of white and Teal. Other planes I have, have the same bottom wing pattern, but with yellow/red, white/purple, etc. Two colors that really contrast with each other. Nothing fancy, but someting that is very easy to identify.
There is a very good article on how to make your plane visible in the articles section. I don't have acces to it just now, or I would give you the link. The basic point is that you will be able to distinguish pattern vs color at reduced visibility. Make sure the patters are bold and quite different top to bottom.
All this color scheme though goes out the window when you are 500 to a 1000 ft and at a good elevation. A silhouette is all you can hope for then and sometimes it just isn't enough. Personally, if there are to many clouds, especially low ones, I set out the day. I've lost to many planes due to getting them where I couldn't tell up from down. Transparent colors are worse than solids also. My last plane, an ARF which I said I would never buy again, was covered completely in yellow transparent covering. After three white knuckle flights, and almost loosing the plane each time, I skinned the covering off and recovered it so I can see it. What a difference and what a fun plane to fly now.
Don
When you get into a day with the clouds you describe, color doesn't mater much. At best, you get a silhouette, unless you keep them in close. Myself, I like to be about four mistakes high as my reaction isn't as fast or accurate as it used to be.
As for the all white, I don't like that, even though I have one plane that has an all white top on the wing. The fuselage is white on the sides with a multi color turtle deck and a red nose. The bottom of the wings though are big, 6" wide bars of white and Teal. Other planes I have, have the same bottom wing pattern, but with yellow/red, white/purple, etc. Two colors that really contrast with each other. Nothing fancy, but someting that is very easy to identify.
There is a very good article on how to make your plane visible in the articles section. I don't have acces to it just now, or I would give you the link. The basic point is that you will be able to distinguish pattern vs color at reduced visibility. Make sure the patters are bold and quite different top to bottom.
All this color scheme though goes out the window when you are 500 to a 1000 ft and at a good elevation. A silhouette is all you can hope for then and sometimes it just isn't enough. Personally, if there are to many clouds, especially low ones, I set out the day. I've lost to many planes due to getting them where I couldn't tell up from down. Transparent colors are worse than solids also. My last plane, an ARF which I said I would never buy again, was covered completely in yellow transparent covering. After three white knuckle flights, and almost loosing the plane each time, I skinned the covering off and recovered it so I can see it. What a difference and what a fun plane to fly now.
Don
02-11-2009 | 10:51 PM
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From: Reva,
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RE: Well,..............It finally happened
ORIGINAL: Campgems
Sorry to hear about your loss. As the old saying goes, been there, done that. I know how it feels.
When you get into a day with the clouds you describe, color doesn't mater much. At best, you get a silhouette, unless you keep them in close. Myself, I like to be about four mistakes high as my reaction isn't as fast or accurate as it used to be.
As for the all white, I don't like that, even though I have one plane that has an all white top on the wing. The fuselage is white on the sides with a multi color turtle deck and a red nose. The bottom of the wings though are big, 6" wide bars of white and Teal. Other planes I have, have the same bottom wing pattern, but with yellow/red, white/purple, etc. Two colors that really contrast with each other. Nothing fancy, but someting that is very easy to identify.
There is a very good article on how to make your plane visible in the articles section. I don't have acces to it just now, or I would give you the link. The basic point is that you will be able to distinguish pattern vs color at reduced visibility. Make sure the patters are bold and quite different top to bottom.
All this color scheme though goes out the window when you are 500 to a 1000 ft and at a good elevation. A silhouette is all you can hope for then and sometimes it just isn't enough. Personally, if there are to many clouds, especially low ones, I set out the day. I've lost to many planes due to getting them where I couldn't tell up from down. Transparent colors are worse than solids also. My last plane, an ARF which I said I would never buy again, was covered completely in yellow transparent covering. After three white knuckle flights, and almost loosing the plane each time, I skinned the covering off and recovered it so I can see it. What a difference and what a fun plane to fly now.
Don
Sorry to hear about your loss. As the old saying goes, been there, done that. I know how it feels.
When you get into a day with the clouds you describe, color doesn't mater much. At best, you get a silhouette, unless you keep them in close. Myself, I like to be about four mistakes high as my reaction isn't as fast or accurate as it used to be.
As for the all white, I don't like that, even though I have one plane that has an all white top on the wing. The fuselage is white on the sides with a multi color turtle deck and a red nose. The bottom of the wings though are big, 6" wide bars of white and Teal. Other planes I have, have the same bottom wing pattern, but with yellow/red, white/purple, etc. Two colors that really contrast with each other. Nothing fancy, but someting that is very easy to identify.
There is a very good article on how to make your plane visible in the articles section. I don't have acces to it just now, or I would give you the link. The basic point is that you will be able to distinguish pattern vs color at reduced visibility. Make sure the patters are bold and quite different top to bottom.
All this color scheme though goes out the window when you are 500 to a 1000 ft and at a good elevation. A silhouette is all you can hope for then and sometimes it just isn't enough. Personally, if there are to many clouds, especially low ones, I set out the day. I've lost to many planes due to getting them where I couldn't tell up from down. Transparent colors are worse than solids also. My last plane, an ARF which I said I would never buy again, was covered completely in yellow transparent covering. After three white knuckle flights, and almost loosing the plane each time, I skinned the covering off and recovered it so I can see it. What a difference and what a fun plane to fly now.
Don
02-12-2009 | 12:02 AM
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From: Oklahoma City,
OK
RE: Well,..............It finally happened
Here is what I did to the bottom of my plane to make it more visible. Unless your worried about scale looks, its the way to go. http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_76...tm.htm#7702725 Scroll to the top to see what I did.
02-12-2009 | 12:28 AM
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RE: Well,..............It finally happened
i have done my only nitro plane (building a second, gp rapture) in blue/white on top, orange/white on bottom. fuse/tail were white cause i was to lazy to spray paint them (it was windy the day i was doing it and i was getting grass/dirt sticking to the paint) anywho the combo has worked well, im doing it again on my rapture. i would have thought that you wouldnt have been able to see the blue/white, but when the sky is blue you see the white. when the sky is that greyish color the blue helps the white from blending in.
as for the orange/white i actually have a harder time seeing it when its cloudy for some reason the orange looks more dark grey than orange. however its not bad enough that you would loose it. and in the sunlight if you miss the orange you might need to get your eyes checked.
as for the orange/white i actually have a harder time seeing it when its cloudy for some reason the orange looks more dark grey than orange. however its not bad enough that you would loose it. and in the sunlight if you miss the orange you might need to get your eyes checked.
02-12-2009 | 01:21 AM
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RE: Well,..............It finally happened
The big problems is when the plane is back lit. Our field is orentated so the left side is basicly east. We have do do our flying in the morning, before noon mostly as the winds pick up really bad starting around 10 to 11. That means we generally fly off the right end of the runway because the plane is always iluminated from the left. When it gets cloudy, the white of the clouds overides the front iluminaton and all you have is a silhouette.
The color isn't important, the contrast is. Black and white is probably the best. Light blue blends with evertything. My first plane had bright blue on top of the wings and missle red on the bottom. I thought it would be a good visible contrast. After crashing it a couple months back, I had to replace the wing so I selected teh White/dark purple bars on the bottom. As you don't very often see the top of the wings, I got a bit carried away there, but still kept the stark contrast difference to the bottom.
Don
The color isn't important, the contrast is. Black and white is probably the best. Light blue blends with evertything. My first plane had bright blue on top of the wings and missle red on the bottom. I thought it would be a good visible contrast. After crashing it a couple months back, I had to replace the wing so I selected teh White/dark purple bars on the bottom. As you don't very often see the top of the wings, I got a bit carried away there, but still kept the stark contrast difference to the bottom.
Don
02-12-2009 | 08:12 AM
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RE: Well,..............It finally happened
ORIGINAL: MinnFlyer
So true.
I really like white airplanes... With BIG, RED wingtips!
ORIGINAL: Campgems
The color isn't important, the contrast is.
The color isn't important, the contrast is.
I really like white airplanes... With BIG, RED wingtips!
Great info in this thread. Now i'm worried about my choice
of colors on my astro Hog. The bottom is all white (Fabric).
Any thoughts ?
Bob
02-12-2009 | 08:44 AM
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From: Aurora,
SD
RE: Well,..............It finally happened
If you happen to lose sight of an airplane and have some altitude sometimes inducing a stable spin is helpful(power off and sticks in the lower corners). At times the spin helped regain sight of the plane, at the least you know it is going mainly straight down and not off to hit a house a mile away. I've picked up planes that were put into a flat spin and glued the damage and was flying again in a half hour.
Good sunglasses help a bunch as does flying closer to the field.
Good sunglasses help a bunch as does flying closer to the field.
02-12-2009 | 08:59 AM
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From: Wellington, SOUTH AFRICA
RE: Well,..............It finally happened
We fly on my gf's dads farm and there the only problem we have with sight is if you come in onto the gravel runway from the right you have mountains at the back and as soon as you level out the plane you tend too loose sight of it for a second or two even though its not that far away - everything blends with that mountain :P. Luckily most of the time when you do get low and have the mountain in the background is when you are coming in for a landing or doing a low fly by.
In normal flight we fly close enough not too loose it.
In normal flight we fly close enough not too loose it.
02-12-2009 | 10:32 AM
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From: Covington,
WA
RE: Well,..............It finally happened
All my planes get several (as many as will fit) 4-5 inch wide Dark stripes on the bottom of the wing, one side only. The top patters are not as dramatic, but are typically somewhat contrasty also.
Jack
Jack
02-12-2009 | 12:22 PM
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From: Grand Blanc,
MI
RE: Well,..............It finally happened
ORIGINAL: 6inarow
I found that article while searching for visibility, I printed the whole thing off including the diagrams, I think the escapade may get a little color treatment, I knew right away I was in trouble, and I think your right, It could have been flourescent pink........... I think I still would have lost it! just really hard to describe how it could be a sunny day, but the airplane was just impossible to see. Guess that was a learning experience for this new pilot, Now my buddy (who also could not see it) calls me "IFR" everytime he sees me now, jeeze, crash one little plane and they never let you forget it! He said he could actually hear the pilot screaming! I think he bailed tho, we did not find anything that looked like a pilot,
ORIGINAL: Campgems
There is a very good article on how to make your plane visible in the articles section. I don't have acces to it just now, or I would give you the link. The basic point is that you will be able to distinguish pattern vs color at reduced visibility. Make sure the patters are bold and quite different top to bottom.
Don
There is a very good article on how to make your plane visible in the articles section. I don't have acces to it just now, or I would give you the link. The basic point is that you will be able to distinguish pattern vs color at reduced visibility. Make sure the patters are bold and quite different top to bottom.
Don
Any chance of a link to the article? I have two planes to cover right now and the Black/Orange scheme that I had done on my Eagle 2 didn't work out as well as I had hoped.
Thanks.
02-12-2009 | 01:17 PM
#15
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RE: Well,..............It finally happened
Her is the link to one artice on visibility
http://www.ultimatecharger.com/color.html
Looking for it with Google, I found it at this link which looks like some good sources also
http://www.airplanecolor.com/links.htm
Don
http://www.ultimatecharger.com/color.html
Looking for it with Google, I found it at this link which looks like some good sources also
http://www.airplanecolor.com/links.htm
Don
02-12-2009 | 02:42 PM
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From: Grand Blanc,
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RE: Well,..............It finally happened
Thanks.
From what I've read so far, I think I'm on the right track with what I had in mind. When I first cover the Eagle, I had the top of the wing black and the bottom orange, just the opposit of what he reccomends. I'll get it right eventually.
From what I've read so far, I think I'm on the right track with what I had in mind. When I first cover the Eagle, I had the top of the wing black and the bottom orange, just the opposit of what he reccomends. I'll get it right eventually.
02-12-2009 | 03:46 PM
#17
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RE: Well,..............It finally happened
One other point on trim covering, not one that helps it be that much more visible, but one that makes the trim colors stand out more. Use some 1/8" black trim tape from the local auto supply store, and line the trim colors. That thin black line makes the colors jump out.
The color on the two wings are the same colors, but the large wing is highlighted with the black trim.
Don
The color on the two wings are the same colors, but the large wing is highlighted with the black trim.
Don
02-12-2009 | 05:36 PM
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From: Chester,
NS, CANADA
RE: Well,..............It finally happened
dignlivn
Dont worry about it. I have had my Astrohog for abour 16 years, and as you can see it is all white except for a couple of blue stripes. In fact it looks almost exactly like yours, except for the "hangar rash". I have never had a problem seeing this airplane.
I find, looking up at a bright sky, that even a white plane looks dark as it becomes silhouetted against the brighter sky.
[img][/image
Some people like to blame the colour of their plane for their crashes.........."Radio interference" , and "couldn't see my plane against the sky" seem to be the two most popular excuses.
Lm
Dont worry about it. I have had my Astrohog for abour 16 years, and as you can see it is all white except for a couple of blue stripes. In fact it looks almost exactly like yours, except for the "hangar rash". I have never had a problem seeing this airplane.
I find, looking up at a bright sky, that even a white plane looks dark as it becomes silhouetted against the brighter sky.
[img][/image
Some people like to blame the colour of their plane for their crashes.........."Radio interference" , and "couldn't see my plane against the sky" seem to be the two most popular excuses.
Lm
02-12-2009 | 09:32 PM
#19
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RE: Well,..............It finally happened
Lm,
Thanks for the input. That's what I thought too,
keep it closer and all colors turn black in the distance.
Good looking Hog you have there, hope mine last
that long.
bob
02-13-2009 | 01:13 AM
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From: Reva,
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RE: Well,..............It finally happened
ORIGINAL: lordmerren
dignlivn
Dont worry about it. I have had my Astrohog for abour 16 years, and as you can see it is all white except for a couple of blue stripes. In fact it looks almost exactly like yours, except for the "hangar rash". I have never had a problem seeing this airplane.
I find, looking up at a bright sky, that even a white plane looks dark as it becomes silhouetted against the brighter sky.
[img][/image
Some people like to blame the colour of their plane for their crashes.........."Radio interference" , and "couldn't see my plane against the sky" seem to be the two most popular excuses.
Lm
dignlivn
Dont worry about it. I have had my Astrohog for abour 16 years, and as you can see it is all white except for a couple of blue stripes. In fact it looks almost exactly like yours, except for the "hangar rash". I have never had a problem seeing this airplane.
I find, looking up at a bright sky, that even a white plane looks dark as it becomes silhouetted against the brighter sky.
[img][/image
Some people like to blame the colour of their plane for their crashes.........."Radio interference" , and "couldn't see my plane against the sky" seem to be the two most popular excuses.
Lm
Jeeze, I never said it wasnt my fault, I just lost track of the plane, sunglasses may have helped, in fact I am sure they would have, and my vision is not 20/20 either. But I find it hard to believe that I am the only one who has lost a plane by not knowing enough about sky conditions to fly or not, I have learned alot, and did not loose my engine or electronics, (although I did order a new tx and rx just because I wanted a computer radio). One day I hope to be as proficient in flight as you are, with practice I will be!
