"Ivan Jozic" wrote in message
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"Thomas J. Paladino Jr." wrote in message
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Why do the Russians always paint their instrument panel in that horrible
shade of light blue. It makes them look unbelievably chintzy and
cluttered,
that color. What's wrong with black and dark grey? Hides the dirt, looks
cool and modern.

And tires your eyes more because the sky around you is light blue..


Oh come on. You've got to do better than that. Do they not plan to fly their
planes at night? Most modern combat missions are flown in pitch black
nowadays anyway. Lightly-painted cockpit panels will reflect far more
ambient cockpit light than flat-black or grey ones, potentially diminishing
a pilot's night vision.

And even during the day, how much can it possibly tire your eyes to look at
a grey panel? I fly a Cessna for hours on end, and it has a dark grey panel,
and dosen't hurt my eyes in the least (I know it's not a fighter jet, but
still, eyes are eyes). I would have to believe that if there was any real
truth to the fact that there is any real benefit nowadays towards having
shiny powder-blue cockpit panels, western fighters would do the same.