Why are airplanes white?

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?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"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

Jay,

the usual "because white reflects heat better"


Try: It makes the bugs show better, so it is easier for you to wash
them off after Daddy flew the plane, honey. gd&r

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

"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?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"


I think it does add up because most GA planes don't have any kind of A/C
other than opening the window (which was my dad's idea of A/C on long road
trips as well). Also white might show up better because it reflects light in
the sky. I know that at least originally composite aircraft had to be white
due to fears that the heat produced from a dark aircraft would cause the
composites to become brittle. Not sure if the change to a different process
fixed this issue or if just the history of composites shows this to not be
true.

--------------------------------------
DW

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

Yep, I fiberglass has to be a lighter color -- that makes sense.

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.

My interior gets to over 121 degrees (the max of my panel thermometer)
every time I park outside in the summer (unless I put the window
reflectors in, of course), and my plane is white.

I suppose it would be worse if it were black, but blue or red or
silver (like the new Cirrus) sure wouldn't hurt.

I think owners are afraid of harming their resale value, and white is
the most "neutral" of all colors. I would like to see more
imagination in our aircraft -- heck, it might even attract new people
to aviation?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Jay Honeck wrote in news:1194095788.943020.167300
@o3g2000hsb.googlegroups.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?

It doesn't add up because not all airplanes are white:

The military paints many of their planes camoflauge...

USAir, American, and United all fly planes that are mostly blue...

And Southwest flies really bad ugly orange planes...

Planes come in all colors -

http://www.cepolina.com/freephoto/f/...ors.object.jpg

"Jay Honeck" wrote

My interior gets to over 121 degrees (the max of my panel thermometer)
every time I park outside in the summer (unless I put the window
reflectors in, of course), and my plane is white.

I suppose it would be worse if it were black, but blue or red or
silver (like the new Cirrus) sure wouldn't hurt.

It is amazing how much hotter ANY color gets.

I recall that even a light color like yellow is something like over 30%
hotter than white.

Red? Dark blue and black?

You REALLY don't want to go there. g

I saw a chart one time, and it gave the interior temperatures of a boat (?)
painted different colors, I think. I could not find it now. You might want
to find it, if you can. It is a real eye opener.
--
Jim in NC

Jay Honeck wrote:
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?

My guess would be that it is the same reason the interior of new
houses are white; it is a one-size fits all color that is acceptable
to most everyone.

And there aren't that many choices in colors on the dealer lots for
cars, motorcycles, and boats.

I've never seen anything but white boats on the new lot, most
motorcyles seem to be either red or blue, and most cars on the
lot seem to come in about 4 different colors.

Sure, you can usually order any color you want, but the stock stuff
is limited for the most part.

--
Jim Pennino

Remove .spam.sux to reply.

"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?
--

It think there is a lot of reasons why white is such a popular color for
airplanes. I think some of the reasons also makes white a popular color
choice for lots of things. My "guesses" are in no particular order.

Although we all have favorite colors, we also have colors we dislike. My
guess is than fewer people on average dislike white, than most any other
color. Less chance of painting an aircraft a color that some one dislikes.

White makes a excellent base color for most any other trim color. It even
works well with very light colors like light gray, or light yellow.

Right or wrong, white is always thought to be associated with cooler
temperatures in the heat. Hence, cooler cockpit, better for composites, etc.

As it ages, white shows it's age less than most any other color. Even very
heavily oxidized white paint can fool you until you get close enough to
touch it.

Cost. Airplanes take a lot of paint. And white paint is often the cheapest
available, depending on the type. Maybe even lighter, but I don't know.

White most often makes a positive psychological suggestion, especially when
compared to colors like black, red or green.

White does less to conceal leaks or loose fasteners, than most any other
color. Makes preflight easier.

But then, I myself, just happen to think white is a very attractive color.
All my of my women and trucks have always been white, and several of my
cars. I guess you could just call me a "white" boy.

First thought that came to mind: It's cheaper, somehow.

Barns came to traditionally be painted red because a hundred years ago, that was
the cheapest paint color. Looking at the GA planes of 50 years ago, reds and
yellows predominate.

Why did the fleet center on white? Perhaps there was an advance in paint
technology that resulted in lowering the manufacturer's costs if the planes were
painted white.

For instance, today, when you go to the hardware store to buy a gallon of paint,
the store starts with a gallon of *white* paint. They then add pigmentation to
make it the color you want. Make it a few tens of thousands of gallons a year,
and the cost of the pigment goes up. Paint white, save the extra cost.

It may even be tied to the transition from fabric-covered planes to all-metal
aircraft. You can brush/roll-on colored dope and the plane will look great, but
there's no weave for the paint to soak into, on a metal surface. Metal surfaces
want to be sprayed, and white paint is probably easier to monitor for
consistency during the process (spotting thin areas, detecting sags, etc.).
And, it could be that somehow the formulations of white paint in the '50s were
somehow more suitable for spraying than other colors.

Ron Wanttaja