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Old 30th August 2005 | 23:13
  #33 (permalink)  
NZLeardriver
 
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 250
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From: USA
Smith

The unpainted plane is a lot lighter, and you do save on fuel. However the savings are offset by added costs of maintaining the polished surface. (anti-corrosion, polishing etc)
A fully painted 747-400 weighs about 500kg more than the polished, and the fuel savings for a full year are approx. $132,000. With fuel prices going up, maybe it will be profitable in the future.
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