I have a new SIG Four Star 60 in red that I am very happy about. The one thing that's tough is it's hard to figure out which is right sideup/upside down. Since I've already covered it, are there any special decals that really stand out I could put on the bottom? I'm sure with all the stuff that R/C companies do, they would have one that shimmers in the sunlight or really stands out. Keep in mind this will have to be a decal since I don't want to re-cover.

A nice bright yellow geometric shape will stand out well. A few that come to mind is a star, circle, 3 inch wide stripes of yellow running from the wings leading edge back towards the airleron.

The stripes would be easiest. Just by the same type of covering you used to cover it with, then cut out the stripes, spray a light mixture of soapy water or plain old windex on the bottom of the wing, place the stripe on it, then use either a piece of soft balsa or cardboard to act as a squeegy and smooth out the stripe. Lay down all the strips the same way. Once done, take a paper towel and remove the excess liquid carefully. Then let it all dry overnight.

When you use the soapy water or windex, this allows you to position what you are adding without it sticking right away

Jigeye : Bubbagates has a good answer as to how to fix your problem, NOW I'm going to confuse the issue.

I have never been able to figure out WHY people always want to put designs on the bottom of their wings. Some are good and for people that fly real close all the time they can help but most new people don't fly in close and seldom see the bottom. In fact they usually fly in the next county.

Think about this : 80 + % of your flying is done so you look at the top of the wing and if you put your designs on the top when you turn TOWARD your self the top will flash at you as if to say HI here I come. Now if you turn AWAY from your self the bottom of the wing turns DARK as if to say I'm going away. ( DOOM )

Think about it and go out to your field and just watch some of the planes and see if the bottom doesn't turn dark when turning away, and the top sort of flash at you when turing toward yourself. It doesn't really mater what way you do it but the way you fly may have something to do with how you design yours.

If you look at most of the planes on the market, they put their designs on TOP. Sorry to confuse the issue but I just think it's something to think about. ENJOY !!! RED

I also agree with Red. More and more I am seeing the newer ARF's coming with plane bottom wings and the design on top.

Another idea to the stripes is the angle them so that they are pointing at the nose. This does two things. It tells you what side is up and tells you which way it's points.

Hi jigeye,

You may find this article of use. http://www.ultimatecharger.com/color.html

Cheers,


Colin

Bubba Gates,
Confused. Keep in mind I'm a newbie. Do you mean get decals and do the soap and water thing or get the same type of covering and iron it on? Sounds like a stupid question but I don't know.
Mike

The soap and water thing is normally done with decals. If you are useing MONOKOTE, then spay Windex on the area first (The Windex ONLY WORKS WITH MONOKOTE ). The solutions activate the adhesive on the decal (covering). If you are using something other than Monokote for your trim/decals you will need to iron them on.

On my planes I have 2 stripes, each about about 2" wide, on the bottom of one wing only. I normally have the bottom of my wings a dark color and the stripes white. The contrast is needed in order to see the stripes at a distance. By having the stripes on one wing, I can determine which way the plane is going and whether it is right side up or upside down.

Mike,

Campy explained it well. The cheapest method would be to get some covering in the color you want and cut out what shapes you would like. One thing to add is using the Windex method with the covering will not require you to iron it on and will give you some time to position the covering the way you want

As long as the top is quite different from the bottom, how that difference is achieved is up to you.
These are instantly recognizable up close.. at distances, the darker the better..

To expound on this topic, where is a good source for decals to buy?