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Anyone who has experience in only one 'discipline' lacks necessary perspective
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As does someone from Canada commenting on UK issues.
True enough. However, I wasn't purporting to do so. This is not a 'UK only' forum; or is it?
The reason for the white colour is not so much for UV protection, but because coloured gel-coat gets very very hot in direct sunlight. This could breakdown the internal structure of the FRP components (wings, fus, etc). The big problem is that this damage is not visible until it is too late.
Thanks WNE. I stand corrected. I confess that I have little experience with glassfibre aircraft; most gliders that I have flown are metal (Schweizers, Larks, and Blaniks). I do have plenty of friends who own glass ships, and while the performance is enviable, the gelcoat problems that many of them have experienced (with 20+ year old gliders) is not. Life is a compromise, right?