"Walt Connelly" wrote in message
...
snip

I have asked a few local pilots why it seems that the preferred color
for gliders appears to be white. I understand that the sun might
degrade a more brightly painted ship faster than a base white one. Is
this really true? It would seem to me that the cheapest form of
avoidance would be making ourselves more visible. I am in the market
for an older, aluminum ship and would consider painting it bright red if
it would increase my visibility.
snip

On a sunny day, put your hand on a red nose or wing tip on a glass glider,
then put it on the white bits. The temperature difference is very obvious.

There were also some trials done about visibility in the UK, the conclusion
was that mirror film on the leading edges was the most effective thing to
do. However I'm not sure where the glider makers stand on that, nor how
much the tiny edge of the film upsets the airflow and hence the lift.

http://www.dg-flugzeugbau.de/Data/gl...uity-study.pdf