Color

Color

[printed in the SDF newsletter]
from On the Flightline
Pikes Peak Radio Control Club
Bill Sanderman, Editor

While we’re in our winter building cycles, we will soon be faced with the age-old question about “What color should our new creation be?”

If this is a scale representation of a full-scale airplane, then the color scheme is predetermined. If we are young and eagle-eyed, then the color is chosen more on the basis of aesthetics rather than visibility.

However, if our eyes aren’t quite as good as they used to be, then the color needs to be such that we can see it better.

The following paragraphs are reprints from previous On The Flight Line presentations which deal with the best color and scheme for best visibility. If you can’t see it, then you can’t control it.

From the May 1996, issue comes the following chart which shows the visibility index for a variety of colors:

Luminous Orange	100 percent
White	90 percent
Light Yellow	80 percent
Light Orange	75 percent
Dark Yellow	70 percent
Light Grey	66 percent
Light Blue	60 percent
Light Red	58 percent
Light Brown	55 percent
Light Green	51 percent
Dark Grey	51 percent
Dark Red	50 percent
Dark Blue	50 percent
Dark Brown	50 percent
Black	50 percent

What does all this mean to modelers? It says that International (luminous) Orange is the most visible under most light conditions, and that most dark colors are only about half as visible as luminous orange. This second article came from the September, 1996, issue (originally from the St. George, Utah club newsletter).

While contemplating what colors to put on that new model, consider the following:

	Avoid single-color aircraft. particularly solid silver or solid dark colors.
	Beginners are advised to color the bottoms of aircraft wings a dark color and the tops a light color.
	Orientation recognition can be enhanced by placing large dark circles under the wings and a starburst pattern of straight lines on the top.
	Any series of adjacent colors on your aircraft that is intended to facilitate orientation should be gray-scale opposites—not color opposites.
	Don’t rely on intricate patterns; they tend to blend together to form an edgeless fuzz at approximately 100 feet away.
	A bright red or orange leading edge on your wing and horizontal will help you keep your wings level during landings.
	Color lines parallel to and above the fuselage horizontal thrustline provide a good angular reference on the glide path prior to the final turn.
	For better loops, make the wingtips and horizontal stabilizer red or orange, and the body background a very light color such as white or yellow. This helps you tell if the wings are flat.

from On the Flightline
Pikes Peak Radio Control Club
Bill Sanderman, Editor