Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!ucsd!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!att!cbnews!military From: jeffs@a.gp.cs.cmu.edu (Jeffrey Schlimmer) Newsgroups: sci.military Subject: Re: Modern USN Aircraft Colors: Why White & Red? Summary: Safety -- Radiation fatigue and visibility on deck Keywords: camouflage, USN, aircraft Message-ID: <1990Jul16.030742.5167@cbnews.att.com> Date: 16 Jul 90 03:07:42 GMT Sender: military@cbnews.att.com (William B. Thacker) Organization: Carnegie-Mellon University, CS/RI Lines: 46 Approved: military@att.att.com From: jeffs@a.gp.cs.cmu.edu (Jeffrey Schlimmer) > Currently the US Navy uses a dark/light gray paint scheme on their >aircraft. Just before that, they painted the top of an airplane gull >gray and the bottom white. I'm curious about two specifics of this >latter paint scheme: > > - Why are ailerons, rudders, and elevators (and flying elevators) > painted white on both the bottom _and_ top? > - Why are the edges of landing gear doors and the inside of flaps > and airbrakes painted red? -------------------- Date: Fri, 6 Jul 90 00:03:44 MST From: Raymond Man Subject: Modern USN Aircraft Colors: Why White & Red? The first question had been asked on the net before. The Navy was concerned about the effect of radiation from nuclear explosion on the integrity of the structure of the control surfaces. I am not sure about the second but believe it is just for better visibility, e.g., during maintenance or preflight checks. Actually inside surfaces are often in a greenish color and not necessarily red. -------------------- Date: Thu, 5 Jul 90 08:09:34 EDT From: Stuart Warmink Subject: Re: Modern USN Aircraft Colors: Why White & Red? Re: red edges I would imagine that the red edges are there for safety - people are less likely to wander into them on a crowded carrier deck. An edge-on open door or flap might not be so easy to see otherwise? -------------------- Thank you for your responses. (Raymond, my mail to you bounced.) --Jeff Schlimmer