Wing colour

[binklebaum]

Hi guys,

This is probably an old subject, however, the question is . . .
"Did the top wings of RFC aircraft fade more than the bottom wings?"
"Was the pc10 darker / lighter?"

Thanks for any info . .

Cheers


Dave

['14-'18aviationcollector]

Hi Dave,

I don't know if it has been discussed before, or the answer to your question with any certainty but I would be very surprised if the top wings did not change colour to a greater extent that the lower wings, even if slightly so. The top wings are subjected to more sun and moisture than the lower wings, the two major factors which cause a change in the colour. Admittedly, colour change within a relatively short service life were probably minimal, but probably present on many aeroplanes.

Regards,

David.

[binklebaum]

Thanks for the reply. I guess, logically teh top wing would fade more due to, as you say, sun, etc. Many thanks for taking the time to answer.

Cheers

Another Dave

[Jim]

Hi Dave. As Dave mentioned, aircraft were not around for very long during the war so it is not likely that there would have been any noticeable fading of the paint in that very short amount of time. More likely any discoloring would be from things like dirt, petrol, and oil.

[binklebaum]

Thanks Jim

Have a good one . . . . Cheers for replying

Dave

[RAF56_Ball]

Check the old threads in Camouflage and Markings - The Aerodrome Forum
.In fact PC-10 went through surprising cahnges from a green hued brownish color to what some describe as a color like a Hershey bar left out. The threads discuss the tech details and what did the "real color" look like ad infinitum. Regardless of verbal descriptions, the colors did "fade" very quickly, partly because of breakdown of the varnish component, possibly partly because of the pigments, and of course there may (and likely were) variations in starting color. THAT was 2 or 3 threads just by itself.
I highly recommend reading them, then just let them lay. Gets ugly when PC-10 is resurrected. And I hate zombie movies.

[binklebaum]

Good on you . . . Thanks for your reply. PC10 always seems to be a walk in a minefield.
Many thanks and I'll ckeck out the other threads.

Best Regards

Dave

[dglewwe]

My take on this from the position of a complete non-authority/expert...

Was PC10 applied to the undersurfaces of the wings? I was under the impression that they were just doped, and so the upper and lower would start out different right from the get-go?