"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
ups.com...
My daughter innocently asked that question the other day, and I gave
her the usual "because white reflects heat better" answer -- but that
really doesn't add up, does it?

Automobiles, motorcycles, boats -- you name it -- all come in a
rainbow of colors. Why are 99.5% of all planes (except for some cool
old classics and some neat homebuilts) white?

That really is the answer, though.

Fiberglass airplanes almost demand it. If they get too hot, the epoxy gets
hot, and gets weak. Very weak.

Other airplanes get too hot to be comfortable in the summer. The heat of
being parked in the sun also lets the interior get so hot that it damages
expensive avionics.
--
Jim in NC