Dislikable paint schemes and markings

[EDowning]

Ryanshort1 wrote:

I'd like to offer an idea here... there's a certain L-5 that I'm aware of that has a hideous non-historical paint scheme mentioned earlier in the thread... We currently have 4995 listed members here on WIX. If half the membership could come up with $3.00 each, I could have the guys at the Alamo Liaison Squadron get it repainted. I'd bet, if we got enough support there, that we could also do something cool, like maybe have the inside of the stretcher area door (not visible in flight like a "tramp stamp") with a nice advertisement for WIX. We could also make a "fake" wartime style bit of nose-art like this:

Or everyone could contribute $3.25 and they could just buy another L-5.

[Dan Jones]

WIX needs an L-5. I'm in for $5.

Dan

[Django]

Only if it gets a Sharkmouth...

[RyanShort1]

Ryanshort1 wrote:

I'd like to offer an idea here... there's a certain L-5 that I'm aware of that has a hideous non-historical paint scheme mentioned earlier in the thread... We currently have 4995 listed members here on WIX. If half the membership could come up with $3.00 each, I could have the guys at the Alamo Liaison Squadron get it repainted. I'd bet, if we got enough support there, that we could also do something cool, like maybe have the inside of the stretcher area door (not visible in flight like a "tramp stamp") with a nice advertisement for WIX. We could also make a "fake" wartime style bit of nose-art like this:

Or everyone could contribute $3.25 and they could just buy another L-5.

Almost... I think a good one right now is around $45K. Wish I had that .

To be honest, I'm not 100% serious yet in saying that WIX should do it just yet. I just had the idea at 6 am in the morning after a really long day of flight instruction yesterday, and before a full day today. I'd have to make sure I cleared it with the rest of the ALS board members at our next meeting and get a hard quote and a way to keep everything accountable. FYI, the plan is for her to be at WOH and Lackland in the next few months. What I was trying to point out that a $5-7K paint job is really somewhat attainable if it's that big of a deal for some aircraft. Bigger aircraft, of course, take quite a bit more money. Regardless, join your local warbird organization and do something for the local community, and try to make $3-5 profit a head and get the thing you don't like repainted... just remember that SOMEONE did like the scheme enough to put it on the plane.

Ryan.......After my initial "shock" seeing the plane many years ago when cared and fed in a different location.... I decided I kinda liked Warbug's paint scheme....it was different and you could find it in a crowd

I'm not unsympathetic to your view, but since the crew I head up at an airshow is trying to portray the history as well as the aircraft, it would be very much more helpful to have it in the authentic markings. My understanding is that the CAF types who did the paint job were trying to "honor" the Desert Storm guys at the time, and also found it really easy to go get some tan or darker brown spray paint to touch it up if it got nicked. Very utilitarian, and clever, but not authentic! If I was going to do a paint scheme, I'm almost 100% sure it would be a Pacific bird, most likely like this one:


I like the scheme. It's not too flashy, but has some color, similar to what we already have, has that same style nose-art on the other side (I have close to 300+ L-5 pics I've saved) and was in the Philippines, like our bird apparently was.

Ryan

[Django]

What's the story on the one with the Lightening bolts?

[RyanShort1]

What's the story on the one with the Lightening bolts?

Those were Air Commando birds. I think my header at Lbirds.com has some of those birds lined up at the war.

Ryan

[Airlift48]

I know I'm going to get "beat-up" for this but...

I've never been a fan of painting a plane silver when it should be natural metal finish. It never looks right. Better to go with another paint scheme i.e. OD green, black, (whatever other scheme that type may have worn) than to go with the painted silver look...

I understand this and agree somewhat, but it is easier to keep an aircraft (at least a large one) clean and looking good with a decent paint job. Our C-54's paint is pretty faded now, but for us, operating something that large with the small workforce we have, a glossy silver paint job it is. (Although it has faded to a light grey, nearly white) Good news is it will have new paint for next year. Same scheme, though.

A) The oil washes off easily B) metal is protected C) still stays glossy with just washing.

We simply don't have the manpower to keep it buffed out enough to look nice.

Now, our C-97 is mostly bare metal and we're going to see what it takes to keep that baby polished decently.

Volunteers?

Now:

I dislike the white top/silver or grey bottom with the thin blue stripe of the USAF from the 60's like this:



YUCK! Worst paint job the USAF ever used.

[fighter_ace06]

From now on Sharks mouths on all P-40s and all P-51s has CY's after paying his tribute to him!!

Yea those guys are dicks.

[JDK]

Very Interesting thread and I thought I would put in my two cents. I am neither a warbird owner nor a pilot, I just like airplanes. Over my 20 plus years in aviation I was just a ground pound or a tube slug as the pilots like to refer to us enlisted maintenance types. I have lived long enough to become an active member of a reunion group, NAS Atlanta Reunion Group, and so now I come to the subject at hand, Warbirds paint jobs.
As part of the reunion group I was contacted recently about a SNJ paint scheme. The owner was interested in painting his SNJ-5 in a NAS Atlanta paint scheme from WW2. Well, the group has over four hundred members and a large archive of source material on which to draw on to aid this man in his task. I searched the archives for photos and talked to three members from that period and supplied the information to said owner. Well, it was not quite what he wanted. First his SNJ had to be yellow not silver with green stripes. Well, I told him that during WW2 Atlanta was a navigation training base not a primary flight training base so the station had no Yellow SNJs during this period. Well, I was told that I was full of bs and he would paint his plane anyway he wanted.
After saying all this, it does not matter how the aircraft is painted to the owners. It is all about them, just like their egos, stock portfolios, trophy wives and favorite colors. If they care anything about history or the veterans that is only a secondary concern. Of course this is my opinion and does not apply to all warbirds and their owners.

Sad to hear that, Bill. But we must remember that just because some pilots and owners are all ego (and some enthusiasts need to get out more and adjust to reality) doesn't mean that all are. There's a tremendous number of people I like to help when I can; owners, even pilots, and Luftwaffe modellers occasionally and there's a short number who I don't deal with any more.

But you've made a couple of good points; there's plenty of people who'll help you with your scheme for the pleasure of getting it right, but the owner's got to be prepared to take that input on board. Where there's a clash of desire and fact, there's usually a middle way, but when someone only wants their 'plane painted as they envision it - just walk away. Sad.

On topic, I hate any scheme where the owner's spent a bomb on the paint and application and ten seconds on the research. But then, they got what they deserved.

Cheers

[EDowning]

JDK always has a good point of view on this stuff. I would like to point out, however, that there's nothing wrong with someone who choses to buy one of these airplanes and just fly it for fun. Not every owner or pilot has to have some historical or tribute minded goal for their airplane. They are, for the most part just high performance airplanes that are fun to fly. Most of them don't even have a combat or specific historical provenance, for that particular airframe. They just look like the ones that did.
It's always nice to be able to do something to honor vets or their organizations as well, and I enjoy doing it when I can. But being totally honest, that's just the cherry on top, my primary interest is just that they're challenging and fun to fly. You may not hear many owners expressing this point of view, but it is out there, and it's a major factor for some of us.

[JDK]

It's always nice to be able to do something to honor vets or their organizations as well, and I enjoy doing it when I can. But being totally honest, that's just the cherry on top, my primary interest is just that they're challenging and fun to fly. You may not hear many owners expressing this point of view, but it is out there, and it's a major factor for some of us.

I may quote you. Because it's the elephant in the room for a lot of warbird activity.

FWIW, I really like civil "it's my aeroplane" schemes from G-FIRE and 'Spirit of Edmonton' on Spitfires through to the Texas flag bedecked Fury, or the Reno schemes and Mustang (yes, really) C-FUZZ. Why not? Better that than 'hono(u)ring' someone with a half assed paintjob, which I do regard similar to flying a flag inverted or having the wrong medals...

But remember - While it's fun to fly these things, that's nothing to the amusement to be gained watching anoraks explode by changing just one digit on your carb serial number...

Regards,

[EDowning]

JDK wrote:

that's nothing to the amusement to be gained watching anoraks explode by changing just one digit on your carb serial number...

If only it were that easy, James. .....if only it were that easy.

[ZRX61]

But remember - While it's fun to fly these things, that's nothing to the amusement to be gained watching anoraks explode by changing just one digit on your carb serial number...

Regards,

Quite possibly the funniest post on the history of Wix....

[mustangdriver]

Eric, JDK, and all, great posts. This is a good example of a great thread as well.

[PeterA]

But you've made a couple of good points; there's plenty of people who'll help you with your scheme for the pleasure of getting it right, but the owner's got to be prepared to take that input on board. Where there's a clash of desire and fact, there's usually a middle way, but when someone only wants their 'plane painted as they envision it - just walk away. Sad.Cheers

Here is one I had to walk away from.



...and one I photographed yesterday for the first time that I am actually rather proud of.



PeterA