The new Lynx come through the factory at Westland in the same black primer: looked better than the final paint job, IMHO ;) :ok:

soon to be grey old chap

from where I stand Brain Potter the once mighty VC10 seems to be U/S a lot more than The Tristar..

Any official figures anyone?

Black aeroplanes are much more visible than shiney white ones!

Bluetail
I can't remember XV236 ever being black?. Need to see the piccy.

IIRC, the standard aluminium etching primer has always been, and still is, a lime/yellow colour.

Is black the new PC option?

Black? very non-PC. I believe the correct term is "Jet". :p

Buoy 15

Check your PM,s

36 never came out of the shed at Heathrow and was certainly never at ISK like it,

In those days we flew them down to LHR paint stripped and BA did the rest, primed painted the lot, in the case of 36 because it was to be grey, it was primed in black instead of the standard yellow(ish)

BT

AFAIK it's IR 'absorbing' primer, been used for quite a while on MOD aircraft.....

...interesting "Rules concerning the Control of Wireless Telegraphy in Time of War and Air Warfare. " quote, I wonder if the American military have bothered to read it, bearing in mind the large number of anonymous aircraft that they have flown in and out of various trouble spots over the years...
:rolleyes:

International Law....

American militiary....

You are joking, aren't you?

That's assuming the rules actually apply to them of course :p

Nearly ORAC, its four-jet. :)

Serviceability
 

No doubt that the Tri* is more reliable than the old girl, but I doubt that there is huge difference. There have certainly been a few VC10 rescues of Tristar tasks (Pax and AAR) over the last few weeks. Had a pleasant nightstop in St Johns on one of them. :D

The black paint is not primer. The jets are majored in yellow/green etching primer. The black is put on before the grey to reduce IR signature.

Brain, never had you down as a paint geek old man ;)

Oh yes,

Duck Egg Blue, Slate Grey, Olive Green, Dark Earth Brown, Gunmetal, Post Office Red....all the Humbrol Classics. I'm sure there was a "fleshy pink" something. Fnarr Fnarr. :O

Hmmm, Mid Stone and Khaki Drill were personal favourites of mine but you're right, you can't beat Flesh :p

A bit more than that....what the picture doesn't show is that the entire starboard wing is in green/yellow, while the rest is in .... err ... jet.

Currently airtesting at Saints, looking quite :yuk: when it gets airborne....

Aye, was gunna post that it's at St Athan currently, bloody thing woke me up :{, been flying round all morning between Saints and Cardiff Airport......looks cool tho ;)

The prototype of the Mk2 Valiant was all black back in the early 60's and right evil it looked too. It was designed specifically for low level but we did not buy it because the V force would never be required to go low level would they !!!!!!!!.

Hey Art,
Hows about a Valiant thread then?

I was told by an old Vickers hand that the Valaint Mk2 was known as the Bombardier - and went like a greased weasel at low level!

Gaydon must have been a very pleasant little spot indeed for the Valiant OCU.

Gizza few tales, Art Field! You're probably one of the very few people around who have mastered both the Valiant and the Personal Computer!

The real paint anoraks will know that the correct name for the shade of grey used is not John Major (it's more subtle than that, BEagle) but Barley Grey, named after the Farnborough boffin that invented it.