| Image Comments |
| David Duckett | 11-Feb-18 13:58 |
| Looking for olive drab... |
| David Duckett | 11-Feb-18 14:13 |
| I got some Model Master olive drab to use as a reference. Then I looked up the color composition of OD which is red, blue, and green. #1 is what I mixed using Liquitex acrylic and 2 & 3 have some white added. ( in full daylight these colors are lighter ) Once the base color was established I realized it can be lightened with white which will make it faded or either yellow or brown or green or some combination of them. I do not like a pure OD so it will be lighter. This is all for the P-61 coming up. |
| David Duckett | 11-Feb-18 14:42 |
| The color olive drab has many different shades and tones and is not a standard color for all uses. Check the definition on Wikipedia and the differences in aircraft and other armaments from around the world. |
| Huey V77 | 11-Feb-18 17:45 |
| David, the one thing I know is by 11:00 in the morning, while changing the "O" rings in the fuel caps, walking on an OD wing (Memphis Belle), my boots got very warm. I think OD absorbs more sun energy than Black. |
| Don C | 12-Feb-18 15:31 |
| Huey, that's what they said about the spotlight tests. OD and flat black absorbed more light while gloss black reflected more making it more difficult to see. Lucky man - getting to work on the Belle. |
| BriandKilby | 12-Feb-18 15:42 |
| I might have heard somewhere that a satin finish was applied to planes for the best airflow. |
| David Duckett | 12-Feb-18 15:44 |
| Best airflow would be bare aluminum. |
| Huey V77 | 12-Feb-18 16:42 |
| Dave, back in 91 and 92 I spent 5 months on the road with the "Belle". Met some of the greatest people. One Vet told me that one wing was replaced on his 17 that was OD, the rest of his plane was bare. He said they bairly made it back because they used more fuel than the others did. Have to mention I got an hour in the left seat from Atlanta to Bermingham. |
| David Duckett | 13-Feb-18 07:45 |
| I'm only guessing about the bare aluminum. I was stationed in Korea with a Major who waxed the wings of a drone which was painted flat black to try to improve its performance. Don't know whether it did or not. |
| BriandKilby | 13-Feb-18 07:56 |
| david, that would seem logical, though, about alumium. you were in korea and Vietnam. wow. |
| David Duckett | 13-Feb-18 08:05 |
| I was in Vietnam twice for six months each time in 1966 and 1968 and in Korea for three months in 1975. |
| Huey V77 | 13-Feb-18 12:41 |
| Mr. Duckett ( with a lot of respect ) do you have knowledge of the "Phoenix Program "? |
| David Duckett | 13-Feb-18 13:40 |
| That is new to me, Huey. |
| David Duckett | 13-Feb-18 13:49 |
| There were many things going on during the Vietnam war that most of us did not know about until later. I suspect the same is true today. |
| David Duckett | 13-Feb-18 19:26 |
| Well, after reading about the Phoenix Program, I will say this. One of the very first things I heard when I got to Vietnam was the story about VC being taken up in helicopters by twos and questioned and if they refused one would be kicked out. That was in the summer of 1966. I always dismissed it as a war story. Turns out it wasn't. |
| hjlittman | 14-Feb-18 20:30 |
| Back in the 50s, when I had a summer job as a "ramp monkey" we waxed a Piper Comanche to improve its performance. We waxed it from the back to the front, like skis. It didn't improve the top speed noticeably, but cruise speed could be maintained at a lower power setting making a significant reduction in fuel consumption on flights from Van Nuys to Las Vegas and Sacramento. I don't know how large that drone was, but waxing a Comanche was quite a job especially the underside since it doesn't have a lot of ground clearance. |
| David Duckett | 15-Feb-18 10:34 |
| I'll get a photo up when the main computer starts working again...? |
