I am wanting to use transparent covering on a kit and have a question about visibility. I have noticed that many planes like the one in the picture will use the transarent on top and on the bottom of the wing. It looks great but I was wondering about visibilty. The top and the bottom of the wing are identical. On one of my ARF's the underside is white and under one wing is a fat pink stripe. I never have any doubt about the orientation of the plane because of the contrasting stripe. However, it doesnt look all that good either. So how do you get the great looks of the transparent covering but not trade on visibilty? I would like some suggestions on schemes for a plane like the one in the picture with the transparent covering that would also have high visibilty.

I have no idea whose plane this is, I just found it on a website as an example of a covering scheme that I like. If its your plane, it looks great!!!

here is a pic of my laser 3D

no probs to see it in flight. I reproduced the color scheme of the znline madness ARF

The transparents are GREAT.

If doing a sailplane, the sun shining through the transparent covered wings is awesome. Much better than a blurry outline against the glare.

The issue of keeping top from bottom straight... you get used to it as your flying skill improves. If you do get disoriented.. give a SMALL control movement and if its wrong you should still be able to give opposite and straighten it out. Yanking the stick when disoriented its going to be the wrong move every time.

I have the top and bottom of most of my planes the same. Most people however don't like flying like that because they can't keep it straight. I guess it is what you are used to.

The transparents become opaque as they fly away. You can't see through them, you see the color so you don't have to worry about not being able to see it.

This is very very true. Once you get proficient at flying, orientation becomes less of a problem.

The way I like to say it is: "I know which way the plane is going, because that's where I put it."

I did my Kadett SR in transparent red. I put flourescent yellow on the wing,rudderand stab tips. I had no problems differentiating top from bottom. But then the SR is a big ol'e bird and easy to see and going kinda slow too.Try using different tip colours top and bottom.

Mark Shuman

I had this plane so high all I could see was a dot the size of a pencil lead and which way it was going. No outline features were visible. But at normal altitudes, transparent coverings are easily seen.

http://www.airfieldmodels.com/galler...zo/gallery.htm

BTW... I lost this plane April 15, 2003. I got a call tonight from someone who thinks they found it. Unfortunately, it was a message on my machine, so I haven't called back to verify. It has been outdoors in heavy winds and rains and all last summer (Florida), so it's probably toothpicks. Even so, I'll be glad to have her back.

Gringo,
I love transparants! I've got a Gentle Lady with trans, yellow on the top of the wing and trans. blue on the bottom. Orientation is no problem and when the sun shines through both of them, you get a wonderful green. Try it!

papermache

I have just completed my new Seduction Fun Master. Not taken any photos of it yet. Covered in Transparent yellow. To differentiate top and bottom, the bottom of the wing has three thin (1" wide) white stripes outboard of the wings, and the top has a checker design, middle of the wing.

I had another model with trans purple, and white on that works really well.

BTW - False alarm about finding Great Gonzo. Just called the club president. Said the plane that was found was an electric with a v-tail - all white.

I have a couple of the Hanger 9 Ascent's .They are done in a Fluorescent orange/red with white graphics on top.Plane is fast ,and still easy to see --Just a thought --

what if I used gray with and a transparent. I like the gray better than the white, do you think that will give as good as a contrast or do I need to stick with white for best visibility?

What I have done in the past when I used transparent covering was to paint the wing ribs with floresent spray paint from Walmart. Very visable!

i guess i'm in the minority, but i find using transparents on both top and bottom makes visibility very difficult. the problem is that when the sun shines thru the plane one of the colors completely filters out the other so determining orientation is challenging. i also found my plane harder to see period when using transparents exclusively. granted if you know exactly what you're doing at all times it's not as much of an issue, but half the fun of flying is trying new things and why make it harder on yourself? i've post a few pictures towards the latter part of this link : http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/Star..._262560/tm.htm that will show you the difference between using transparents on both the wing top and bottom and just the top. it's still a sharp looking plane but i find that the visibility is vastly improved after re-covering the bottom with opaque vs. transparent. just something to consider . . .