Do Paint Schemes make the age?

Most aircraft today are similar to the ones used about 40ish years ago and are still flying, Apart from Enginewise, It is also amazing what difference a paint job can make

Cold War
www.west-point.org...

Vietnam Era
www.warbirdalley.com...

Present day
www.ugamedia.com...

The Future?
www.wallpaper.net.au...

www.airsceneuk.org.uk...

Some Airliners on this site still fly today
www.nwan.co.uk...

Forgive my asking, but what on earth are you on about dear chap?!!???

Failing that, what are you on?

[edit on 20-3-2006 by planeman]

I know it's not feasible with today's high-tech composites airframes, but to me, fighters never looked finer than when they were plain ol' polished alloy.
Just picture them - Lightnings, Starfighters, even Fishbeds, all nice and shiny with brightly painted squadron markings. Lovely!

Most aircraft paint scemes have been driven by factors at the time. Towards the end of WW2, painting an aircraft with anything more than basic markings would have been a waste of time and paint. The F-4s you see in a camoflage paint scheme were intended not to get shot down by a pilot flying above them and spotting them. The various shades of grey you see in aircraft today are based around blending as well as possible into hazy conditions. This is probrably the paint scheme you'll see the most of, untill the REALLY cool paints come out.

If anything, I like the current trend of the F-22 and F-35.

But what beats the stealthy colors of the F-117 and B-2? hmmm, nothing?

I have a question..
Doesn't the radar absorbent paint on stealth a/c compromise is visual apperance to enemy a/c so if the stealth doesn't perform, it a/c will be vulnerable at non BVR ranges..right?

I read somewhere that the best paint scheme for visual stealth was a pale pink but the USAF didnt want its pilots flying pink planes . Not sure how true this is tho.

Pink is hard to see, especialy in desert areas as shown by this famouse pic:

Those Jaguars belong to which country? Oman? Nigeria?

EDIT: Although is see all Caucasian people around


[edit on 23-3-2006 by Daedalus3]

UK, the pic was taken at RAF Coltishall shortly before deployment to GW I