Visibility issues
 

I have been flying an Aerobird Extreme for a while now, but just started flying the Striker. With the aerobird I rarely had a problem telling its orientation or direction, but with the striker I can barely tell if it’s upside down or right side up half the time. Do people have suggestions on ways to improve this? I'm going to try and paint the bottom a bright color so I can tell it apart, but at a distance, especially near dusk, it will still be hard to tell. Maybe LED light? What kind if paint do I use on Foam?


Thanks.

RE: Visibility issues
 

You already figured it out. Pain a contrasting color and some type of directional pattern. What ever you do it needs to be noticably different top to bottom. Be careful how much paint you use as paint will add weight quickly.

How far out are you letting you plane get??? That is a small plane and you want to be crarefull getting it out where you can't see it well, even with a good contrast in color.

Have fun and be safe.

RE: Visibility issues
 

OK Daloaf, i have a student who is having the same problem with his Stryker, and we used some 2 inch wide white and red sticky tape available from hobby shops and laid it out on the underside of the wing to form a red and white vee, remember only do the underside of the wing. Visibility improved immensely, and after a couple of more lessons my student will be going solo.Hope this helps you also, just remember not to fly too far away from you that it only becomes a dot in the sky. Happy flying

RE: Visibility issues
 

Don't fly so high or so far away.

These little electrics are hard enough to see when they are 100 yards away . So no matter what scheme you paint on the bottom , if you go to fly to far away you will lose the plane. Or paint it the same scheme as your aerobird. ;)

RE: Visibility issues
 

Fly closer to yourself and get a real plane. :D

Dr.1

RE: Visibility issues
 

Hey guys. I've got the Mustang PTS trainer and also noticed a little trouble with orientation at some angles. What would be good to put on it to get a better differentiation between the top and the bottom? Thanks

RE: Visibility issues
 

on a cloudy day at altitude and distance almost all colors look black.most visible is whie.no matter what plane or size there are always visibility issues on certain days.i have a stafford p-39 done up in camuflage with a light blue underside.normally the tan and green upper body shows up quite well except the fall when the leaves change color.on more than one occassion i have lost the plane on final after it descends below the tree line and blends in,i have had to pull the nose up to be able to see the blue underbelly to find it.

RE: Visibility issues
 

I have found yellow is the easiest color for me to see in all lighting conditions. I also like to have a wide stripe from the leading edge at the fuselage to the outer tip of the trailing edge that forms an arrow pointing forward on top of the wing. For the bottom of the wing, in addition to using contrasting colors, use a different pattern. They make foam safe paints, I think they are water based. Be careful not to add too much weight.

RE: Visibility issues
 

Thnaks for the great advice.

Daloaf