66
votes
Accepted
How are aircraft depainted?
Paint stripper. Lots of paint stripper.
(originally I said thinner, but I have been corrected, it's more accurately called stripper)
Seriously though, it's actually not too different to other things ...
- 631
45
votes
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Do airlines have to get permission from the FAA if they want to change their livery?
Not the FAA, but the manufacturer.
If the parts are composite, only a small range of colors may be approved, depending on the glass transition temperature of the resin matrix. For gliders, only white ...
- 228k
43
votes
Why was the Concorde painted white and not black?
There is a discussion on it here that's worth reading but in short the requirements were just different. A few of the key points,
The black color on the SR-71 offered some night camouflage in ...
- 100k
32
votes
Accepted
Why don’t airliners have temporary liveries?
They do have temporary liveries. This is very common in wet lease operators, where an aircraft is flown for an airline during a peak period or when their planes are down for maintenance. Airlines want ...
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31
votes
Why are the wingtips of sailplanes painted red?
White is indeed chosen for thermal reasons. Gliders use epoxy resins which cure at room temperature and are then tempered at 60°C. This tempering shifts the glass transition temperature to something ...
- 228k
31
votes
How are aircraft depainted?
In addition to the chemical method in Simon's answer, there are mechanical methods, like bead blasting. This method was introduced in the 80s by airforces concerned with the volume of chemical waste ...
- 8,531
22
votes
Accepted
What is that yellow square to the right of the main entry door of this Lufthansa A350?
It's a yellow square that says Willkommen / Welcome. In one case I have seen that additional text was written into the square with a black (removable?) marker.
Source
This website explains it like ...
- 81.7k
18
votes
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Why was the Concorde painted white and not black?
Concorde's average skin temperature was 92°C (365K). Calculating the black body radiation using the Stefan Boltzmann law we get 1006W/m². This the maximum heat flux possible with perfect radiation, ...
- 1,261
16
votes
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Who operates a 707 with Boeing factory livery?
Official airplane of Democratic Republic of Congo
Today, the Democratic Republic of Congo uses a B707-138B, registered 9Q-CLK: LK for Laurent Kabila.
Laurent Kabila has been Congo's President until ...
- 69.7k
16
votes
Accepted
Why would a C-17 Globemaster be painted in Qatar Airways livery?
It is a military C-17 of the Qatar Air Force, one of the four in operation.
It is in this livery as it is being operated by the Qatar Amiri Flight, a VIP airline owned and operated by the government ...
- 99.9k
15
votes
How are aircraft depainted?
Not to be a smart-ass, but I think the correct answer is "in accordance with the airframe manufacturer's instructions."
Aircraft are generally given a corrosion protective layer (or passivated) at ...
- 167
14
votes
Why are planes generally painted white?
Contrary to voretaq7's highly upvoted answer, the green coating in your first image is NOT a primer. It's a spray-on plastic protective coating usually referred to as "Temporary Protective ...
- 279
13
votes
Why don’t airliners have temporary liveries?
The time needed to apply and remove the advertisements would cost too much money. As long as the aircraft is on the ground, it cannot earn revenue. Better to forgo the small profits from ads for ...
- 228k
13
votes
Do airlines have to get permission from the FAA if they want to change their livery?
In general, the aircraft owners can paint the aircraft whichever the way they want. However, changing of aircraft liveries comes under refinishing of decorative coatings has to be done by certified ...
- 99.9k
13
votes
Accepted
Is the old paint removed before applying a new one?
Yes, paint imposes a significant weight penalty on larger aircraft. On commercial airliners, that weight translates to a reduction in cargo, passenger and fuel carrying capacity, and that means less ...
- 12.5k
10
votes
Why would a C-17 Globemaster be painted in Qatar Airways livery?
It is for military use. As you can see from your photo, the registration code is "MAB" and this site links that aircraft to the Qatar Emiri Air Force:
Current fleet:
A7-MAA
A7-MAB
A7-MAC
...
- 32.3k
8
votes
Accepted
Why are the wingtips of sailplanes painted red?
Personally speaking I like red wingtips because it makes seeing the wingtips a lot easier.
During a winch launch it is critical to keep the wings level which is easy in mid flight as you have a lot ...
- 1,161
8
votes
Why don’t airliners have temporary liveries?
1) For a typical urban bus, that plastic foil has to stay on at maybe a max of around 60 mph. For a commercial jet, it'd have to stay on at 600 mph. And suppose it starts ripping off and gets ...
- 2,577
8
votes
How are aircraft depainted?
There are other methods in addition to the chemical and mechanical ones already mentioned in other answers. In some cases, paint is removed from aircraft using a laser.
Here's a video I found from ...
- 81
7
votes
How often is the name painted on fighters?
I cannot answer for the USAF, but Navy and Marine Corps squadrons have also done this for years. In addition to the pilot, if there is more than one seat the Weapon System Officers name(s) will also ...
- 24.1k
7
votes
European aircraft liveries list
This is really a three part question, I'll try to answer it appropriately
What airlines fly into Milan Malpensa airport (MXP/LIMC)
The first place I'd start is the arrival and departure info for the ...
- 31.1k
6
votes
Why was the Concorde painted white and not black?
The Blackbird was black so it could absorb radiation, not so it could emit radiation. Look at the Blackbird's predecessor, the A-12, it is fairly easy to find pictures of the A-12 with polished or ...
- 433
6
votes
Why don’t airliners have temporary liveries?
Building upon jamesqf answer, I'd like to add:
3) The number of people seeing bus on the streets while moving between stops could be simplified as sum of traffic size + population working and living ...
- 69
5
votes
Why was the Concorde painted white and not black?
Good question. There are two main reasons for the Concorde's specific coloring: Heat absorption and heat emission. The key to its color scheme is in the materials used in construction of each plane.
...
- 1,279
5
votes
Are commercial aircraft required to have the model number painted on them?
Every aircraft I have flown had a data plate mounted somewhere in the outside, showing the make, model, serial number, and the year of manufacture. You probably can't see it unless you're 3 feet away, ...
- 16.7k
4
votes
Why are planes generally painted white?
Rather than painted white, Boeing documents the option of keeping a fleet "polished" raw aluminium. Polished is more efficient to fly, but it requires more maintenance, buffing the entire plane ...
- 259
4
votes
Why are commercial airplanes painted at all?
Why are aircraft painted at all?
Because of the flying billboard function. Marketing determines the colour scheme, not techical reasons such as weight savings (which is true) or drag reduction from ...
- 61.2k
4
votes
Why don’t airliners have temporary liveries?
They have been using temporary liveries for decades. Rock group Yes famously had one produced on film for their US tour in 197x and half way across the Atlantic it started peeling off and flapping ...
- 141
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