posted on May, 9 2011 @ 11:45 AM
reply to post by JakiusFogg
Yes....know that already....only reason I wrote "aluminum" in quotes was for emphasis....not as a euphemism or something.....
As to the savings of weight, that was the premise initially....many decades ago.....with less paint. Overall, though there is a counter-balancing
increased cost in the man-hours of maintaining that aluminum sheen.......AAL has to employ teams of people to constantly polish the bare aluminum
areas. In "lean" economic times, they can cut back, or skimp on that....but, to the detriment of the appearance .... and they (corporate) wish to
present a 'professional' look, for customer purposes...not a "shabby, ratty" look.
Also...as I mentioned, with more modern airliners using the composites, those HAVE to be painted. Look at the B-757, for instance:
www.fibre-reinforced-plastic.com...
Of course, the same "family" includes the B-767....then, there is also the B-737 with a lot of similar components. The new 787, as well.
Here.....example:
The vertical fin? (and rudder)....composite. The nacelles/cowlings. Radome. Under-wing to body fairings. The winglets. Not shown, but all the
other control surfaces, in addition to the rudder. Etc...
I had seen a story (I believe at
airliners.net) writing about the future at AAL.....they may eventually re-design their livery, since the
"all-aluminum" look is dwindling.