Here is my choice for my Oly III, red bottom and the red,yellow,blue top. I should see the red bottom as it should go black the farther away it gets.
Frank

Try out your colors by taking a black and white photo. Contrast is King! Color is moot.

I've been thinking this over for a while. All my FF models have black tissue on bottom (to spot in flight) and bright colors on top (to find them in the bushes later).

My latest restoration project is an old woody "OlyII" ( I posted pics in the Woodie thread).

When I re-cover, the top center section will be opaque WHITE (for easy leveling reference on the winch / hi-start). I'll use TRANSPARENT RED along the entire bottom side with the same trans red on the topside of the wingtips. This will give me a nice contrast to sky in flight (darker under clouds) with lit up wingtips under sunny conditions.

I also noticed a fellow pilot using fluorescent orange on the vertical which showed up nicely in turns. I'll be using the trans red on my verticals with an all white stab section. Fuse will be all BLACK.

Originally Posted by LVsoaring

Even though they are almost on opposite sides of a color wheel, and you might think they would contrast well, light yellow against light blue would be very difficult to see at a distance. Remember, we're talking about being up very high, nearly specke'd out. A dark underside will allow you to keep it in sight higher than you would be able with a light underside.

Agree. though I'd reiterate that light markings make the dark stand out even better. But the markings need to be simple and low resolution or they'll vanish as well.

The idea with a contrast pattern is to make obvious and very sharply defined shapes that your eye can latch on to.

One or two 4"-8" white circle against a field of solid black works much, MUCH better that either white or black against the sky alone.

But lots and lots of polka-dots will blend into grey and vanish, defeating the purpose.

Hey guys, let's not forget streamers.
I have read on RCGroups that some stick 5-10metre streamers to each wing and claim it works very well in telling the orientation at high altitude.

These streamers are "bird scare tape" http://www.groworganic.com/item_PBR2...theses=7132933 which is metallic and often in hologram colours.

Mainly useful in full sunlight by reflecting the sun in bright flashes and the long trails help of course with the "which way is that damn thing going" problem.

Kev

[QUOTE=rdeis;14830563]

One or two 4"-8" white circle against a field of solid black works much, MUCH better that either white or black against the sky alone.

Makes sense. I give it a go

Kev

I use Orange on top and dark blue underneath and find it looks a lot like a Denver Broncos logo in the air! The orange lights up against the blue sky and the blue contrasts nicely against the gray overcast when that is the rule. I'm more than happy with the visual performance. This is on an Oly III...but, I use the same on an Ninja at the slope. Thank our friends in Denver for the idea. It works!!
Tunabiker

How about something NEW??
http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/s...Product=11338#

For the top side this should be great. It is similar stuff to "bird scare foil", highly reflective in sunlight, self adhesive, & ultra thin.
Maybe even suitable to the underside

I have just received some. It looks almost colourless when you first see it, but as you turn it you get the rainbow hologram effect.

Haven't used it yet.

Kev

Black on the bottom is best. It increases your contrast with the light blue of the sky. Nothing, however will allow you to see your plane once it reaches a very high altitude, as the contrast does not exist between something (in relative terms) smaller than a gnat at arms length and the color of the VAST blue sky.

I was going to go all black on the fuse, but started thinking about how it may get lost on landing approach. I decided to give it a white nose to play off the white center section of the wing. Maybe I'll get a little directional indicator off the white nose as well.??

I like the purple/yellow or red/yellow patters. They can be seen pretty well as on the video...

http://aeromodelando.blogspot.com/se...l/Minitermicos

Originally Posted by Juscuz OR

I was going to go all black on the fuse, but started thinking about how it may get lost on landing approach. I decided to give it a white nose to play off the white center section of the wing. Maybe I'll get a little directional indicator off the white nose as well.??

Try white rudder as well......Makes a huge difference with background on landing approach.

I found that this works good for the under side of wings, in any sky configuration :

Notice: CONTRAST

Did find this pic when searching about this topic a while ago, I think it is very informative.