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Thread: Black or White?
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Old 3rd April 2005 | 00:55
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Intruder
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Veteran: Navy
 
Joined: May 2000
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From: Seattle
I really should know the answer to this, having done a course in heat transfer and basic thermodynamics, but i cant for the life of me derive a satisfactory answer. The question, in a nutshell, is this:

How come the SR-71 blackbird was painted black, yet Concorde was painted white?
MARKETING!

There may have been a relatively insignificant gain to be realized by painting the Concorde black, but passengers would rather fly a bright white bird.

OTOH, the Blackbird was designed to press the absolute edge of the envelope at the time, without marketing concerns...
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