Best colors for visibility?

[lammy1000]

Please excuse this question if it's redudant, but which 2 color combination provides the most visibility and ease of identifying top/bottom? Thanks

[Ollie]

Very light (white, yellow, orange or red) on top and very dark (black, blue, or purple) on bottom.
At long distances, contrast is better than color.

[Marion]

Free flight modelers from days gone by insist that light yellow and black are best by far.

[Salto]

There's some great info here:

http://www.ultimatecharger.com/color.html
http://www.airplanecolor.com/visible.htm

And if it needs to look good also:

http://coe.sdsu.edu/eet/Articles/ColorSchemes/start.htm
http://www.color-wheel-pro.com/color-meaning.html

Graham.

[MartinChou]

At long distances, contrast is better than color.

Totally agreed with this statement. Contrast is the way our eyes see things.

There is a good discussion thread, Color, your plane, and visibility (http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=133796). Hope this helps.

Martin
www.StarImagineering.com

[hul]

pink really stands out, even for colourblind eyes

Hans

[vintage1]

Dayglo is the best combined with a dark color for contrast. Chrome can be good too.


Make your plane look different from every angle so when its a dot, the color tells you which way round it is.


Avoid scale camo if possible. It really works :(

[Lon Enloe]

By all means, implement the excellent suggestions for light/dark contrast mentioned in some of these links. I've lost count of the number of times this simple technique has saved my bacon.

[jay flay tway]

You have a plane named "bacon"?
Just kidding. Couldn't resist the corny joke. :)

I think I'd avoid white, blue, green altogether since they are common colors of background.
3M reflector material/tape might be heavy but might show reflection of the sun (in small amounts) on curved surfaces so any angle will reflect to you (a bit optimistic).

It seems all the colors I like for planes are really bad choices.
I have a white indoor plane I fly in classrooms and it almost disappears when I fly it twenty feet away or so.

[MIG-29]

I made it all blue mine LOL
:D

I guess I was very smart.... actually I didn't have any other color handy and wanted to get it flying... probably better would have been to leave the top of the wing uncovered (it is a flying wing... so it is white) and put blue only on bottom.

Anyway this week I'll get some more colors and recover it the way it should be. I usually use a grey->black on bottom and yellow/or even white on top. Also (it is not negligible!) white on top prevents (assuming you fly the normal way almost all of the time) the sun from heating it since white reflects all the spectrum... this way you don't get high temperature induced by the heat from the Sun on different electronic components. (receiver, servos, controller). It makes the thermic life for the components easier.

MIG-29

[FWFlyer]

A word of caution about using red as your "light" color. In the absence of bright light, red will look black as distance increases. Two weeks back my buddy brought his newly painted plane to my house to fly. Up close, the red top shown like a firetruck. However; when the sky got very cloudy and he got 100' out, the whole plane looked like a black silhouette.

When he went into the wheat field to pick up the pieces, he just kept muttering how it became impossible to tell top and bottom during the roll.

If you ever watch any nature shows about reef fish, you can see how even the brightest fish turn black quickly when the sunlight disappears.

[davidfee]

Neon orange/white on top, black on the bottom. It's sad when all your planes look the same, but at least you can see them. ;)

-David

[rcjetpilot]

My best (http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3239272&postcount=39) for contrast would be...
Top - yellow or cub yellow
Bottom - Green

bob

[lammy1000]

Will covering the plane's bottom blue cause it to blend into the sky on a clear day or will it appear black at distance?

[davidfee]

So long as the blue is fairly dark and opaque (not translucent), it will appear black at a distance.

-David

[kestrel2003]

Almost all my non scale planes ( and even some of those! (turbo agro/Seafury Miss Mercied) end up yellow. I just see it well in the sky. Go for yellow and contrast!

[lammy1000]

I would like to use so-lite; white on top / blue on bottom. My concern is the so-lite blue being dark enough. Black invasion stripes on top may work...or should i use fluorescent orange for the invasion stripes?

[FWFlyer]

I would like to use so-lite; white on top / blue on bottom. My concern is the so-lite blue being dark enough. Black invasion stripes on top may work...or should i use fluorescent orange for the invasion stripes?What type/size of plane is it? Also, how far away from yourself will you fly?

Flying close to yourself can help identification even with less contrast.

[lammy1000]

What type/size of plane is it? Also, how far away from yourself will you fly?

Flying close to yourself can help identification even with less contrast.

Plane is my second Mountain Models Smoothe, 40" wing span brushless motor/lipo powered sport plane. I do occasionally search for thermals/lift.

[FWFlyer]

Plane is my second Mountain Models Smoothe, 40" wing span brushless motor/lipo powered sport plane. I do occasionally search for thermals/lift.If you are thermal hunting with a 40" plane, I suggest you go with something more visable than blue and white. Although black invasion stripes may suffice for the top. If the blue on the bottom is navy blue you may be ok. Otherwise, add some bright colors in large blocks for better visability.

[Ghost 2501]

well, im not kidding, reflective blue and reflective yellow, in a chequer board pattern, on the fuse and upper surfaces, with a reflective chevron in yellow and orange.

this is inspired by the liveries sported by some police cars in the UK and it was a winner in an international design competition as well. the destinctive pattern also means that the vehicles stand out. even at distances. if it works on a full scale police cruiser here in the UK, there is no reason why it shouldnt work on an RC plane

[stu78]

...Avoid scale camo if possible. It really works :(


I know what you mean, My spit is sky blue on the bottom and green/brown on top and sides, and VERY difficult to spot on an overcasy day.

The trouble is, it would look silly in dayglow pink/yellow with black stripes! :D

As well as actual covering colours, Lights (Ultra bright LEDS) are also great for spotting a plane in a dark/overcast sky.

Stuart

[nemonis]

As well as actual covering colours, Lights (Ultra bright LEDS) are also great for spotting a plane in a dark/overcast sky.


You might want to put the LEDS on a switch from the radio so you can turn them off when the sky is bright. I hear that lights around the perimeter is a form of camo in bright daylight.

God bless!
Wayne J.

[markmm]

Without a doubt, contrast is more effective than color at a considerable distance.

At a certain distance, the human eye can no longer distinguish colors and everything is rendered in grayscale.

You can cover your plane in any color you wish, but at some point your plane will be colorless to you and the ONLY thing you can rely on is contrast.

Of course at some point, your entire plane will be nothing but a black dot too. :D

One thing that may help is to use chrome on one side or the other, because even at a considerable distance, reflections (sun glare) stick out like a sore thumb (provided that part of the plane is at an angle to cause you to see it).

[Arthur P.]

How about the colour scheme in post 557 here: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=374142&page=38&pp=15

[AndyOne]

When I was in the US a while ago I went to a talk by the legendary Maynard Hill who was telling us about his experiences with early UAVs and target drones for the military. They painted their planes with red and white stripes for visibility then one day a colonel came along to see what they were doing. He noticed the colour scheme didn't fit in with regulations and ordered them to paint it olive drab. When Maynard protested that they need to see them at a distance he was over-ruled. "goes to prove what I always thought" he said, "rank multiplied by intelligence is a constant.".

Andy.

[Sparky Paul]

When I was in the US a while ago I went to a talk by the legendary Maynard Hill who was telling us about his experiences with early UAVs and target drones for the military. They painted their planes with red and white stripes for visibility then one day a colonel came along to see what they were doing. He noticed the colour scheme didn't fit in with regulations and ordered them to paint it olive drab. When Maynard protested that they need to see them at a distance he was over-ruled. "goes to prove what I always thought" he said, "rank multiplied by intelligence is a constant.".

Andy.
.
Not necessarly. Few combat planes are painted red and white. And that's what they'd be shooting at in anger.
The exercise I saw with those drones, all red, none of them were hit. This is with the crew from a single M-48 shooting. With all the guys shooting, I expect the toll would be more realistic, ground attack work being very dangerous to the pilot.

[indoruwet]

Worth 2 cents or less.

If you have access to a computer, with a paint programme, draw a plane, colour it like you think it makes sense, then print it in grey scale.
If you do not see enough contrast, as mentioned above, you've got troubles.

[Arthur P.]

I thought I-d go for a high visibility paint scheme on my new but already heavilly modified Multiplex EasyStar.

Painted first with white acrylic polyurethane paint from the DIY, then with different colour acrylics in those small bottles from the DIY or creative arts shops, en then finished with some permanent black marker lines with a ruler and the little hands and feet with a stencil template.

[indoruwet]

Stripes HAVE to be at least 4 inches wide in order to be still discernible at a distance. The sample above (Arthur P) may be a bit small for the white lines between the orange. The complementary colour of orange is more dark blue.

[jay flay tway]

I just noticed that my all-white Plantraco Butterfly (which is quite hard to see in big classrooms) has incredible visibility against a forest background...until you go above and the background is clouds.

[Sparky Paul]

Flew my new electric Spirit Elite today.
DON"T use these colors! :(

[SOCADJE]

would neon orange on tail and black on wing work?

[davidfee]

An all black wing? It wouldn't be great for visibility: no contrast. You could also have heating issues if it's out in the sun. You may not like the way it looks, but the safety orange, black, and white scheme on these F5B gliders is about the best I've ever seen for visibility at long distances (and up close, too).

-David