Paint scheme???

[54170b]

I have a project 170 and im wondering what to paint it. Im wondering what you expert 170 people can come up with or if you have a picture of a nice looking 170 with a modern ish paint scheme please post it, and any ideas you have. It has black gearlegs right now, along with 8.50 tires and is a floatplane. This is also a chance for a paint scheme you made up to go on an airplane. thanks for your help- Kyle

[n2582d]

Kyle,
It seems to me that when one has a classic airplane it almost requires a classic paint scheme. Not only does it avoid the Dr. Phil reaction, "Whaaat were you thinking???" it also will give you the best ROI. Look at 170's for sale online long enough and you will see that the ones that are for sale the longest have "unique" paint schemes. That being said one might consider what sort of colors will be most visible in the event of an accident. The reflection of polished aluminum would probably be noticed before a white aircraft would if down in the snow. One sees a lot of over 30 year aircraft that have new paint jobs with 12" N numbers plastered on the side. They look ugly. The FAR's only require 2" letters on the side of the fuselage/tail. If you have money to burn have Aircraft Paint Schemes or Scheme designers help you come up with a paint scheme you like. In my opinion some of their current designs with "swooshes" look great now but they might appear dated in another 10 years. Here's a scheme I would consider for your plane:

Click to Enlarge

[bagarre]

I'm going to almost plus one that vote.
170's tend to look much better when they have 170 paint schemes and they tend to resell better with original looking paint.

It's a double edge sword tho.

If you go with a 170 scheme, be prepared for the purists to comment.
"That's the wrong scheme for that year", "The swoosh is supposed to be higher", "That's not an original color", "You didn't get it right..."
yadayadayada

So, sometimes a variation of a 170 scheme can be better if you're not trying to do a restoration.

I got lucky with 81D and take no credit. The previous owner did a wonderful "170 inspired" paint job. 81D is a great looking 170 that isn't trying to look like a restored 170.

Profile.jpg

When my Dad does his paint schemes, he prints out a ton of profile line drawings and spends weeks with colored pencils until one of them looks right.

Just a few thoughts. But in the end You have to be happy with it. For some people, being happy with it depends on other people being happy with it as well. That's up to you

[mekstrand]

Kyle,

I agree with the other posts that some schemes just don't look right on a 170. Saying that our 170 has a non traditional paint scheme that I really like. I would recommend a couple websites that have hundreds of photos of Cessna 170's from around the world. These will provide you with a full spectrum of options so you can determine which direction you want to go.

Try this link

http://www.airliners.net/search/photo.s ... ersion=6.0

Also try this. Search for Cessna 170, 170A, and 170B.

http://Www.airport-data.com

Good luck,

Marshall
(KPAE)

[54170b]

I saw one on airliners that looks like the 170 "inspired" one i drew up. Also i did spend many hours with a rular and pencil and line drawings and colors until i liked one, then i put it onto photoshop and started messing around. this way i could add/ remove things with the click of a mouse. I added skis in this picture of it here, and floats on another, just to make sure it looked right.

[54170b]

And im not doing a classic restoration, im making it into what i want. A purest would probley kill me.

[bagarre]

With all that RED, it's going to be REALLY fast!

I like the lines.

[54170b]

I have a version of it in silver with red stripes, But the 170 next door has that and i dont know if i want to make it that similar. Also i want it to be visible in the snow

[Bruce Fenstermacher]

And im not doing a classic restoration, im making it into what i want. A purest would probley kill me.

Kyle,

We've pretty much seen every modification so not much will surprise us. It is your airplane, make it the way you want.

A few conventions ago I was walking the flight line when the "original nut" came over to me and asked if I'd seen what someone had done to their 170 over in the next line. Looking over I could see the plane with a Cessna G1000ish piant scheme with bigger bolder swishes. I promised to check it out. As I finished my inspection George approached and asked if I saw that horrible modification. It wasn't the paint or the interior, it was those BIG barn door aileron trim tabs someone installed on not one but both of the ailerons. Each one of these tabs were bent in opposite directions at about 45°. One could only imagine this plane flew like it had 100 lbs on a wing tip.

So what ever you do with swishes or making the interior look like a 737, your probably OK but DON'T under any circumstance install aileron trim tabs. That will really get us riled up.

Well I can think of ONE other modification that might get us excited.

[GAHorn]

Other than Steve Jacobson, ...I'm about as close as this crowd gets to "purist"...and I LIKE IT! (your paint scheme...not Bruces nightmare!)

[Bruce Fenstermacher]

I like your stripe lines Kyle. Classic 170 like but not original. I do understand the entire red scheme for visibility and applaud your forward thinking in this regard. However we have an entirely red aircraft with black strips on our field and I have to tell you, in my mind, it's not pretty.

I'd do a little research on paint colors and their visibility factor and perhaps mix another color in there. I'm also wondering if half the time you won't be flying over green trees and water and might want something to contrast with that environment.

When I think of survival colors I think of the Coast Guard aircraft in white, fluorescent orange and red painted in straight shapes not found in nature. I'm thinking the red with a contrasting lighter color like white might be better over all because the unnatural shape created by the contrasting color catches you eye in nature more than the color itself.

[GAHorn]

I wonder how it might look if the black accents were changed to either darker or lighter red?

[hilltop170]

I wonder how it might look if the black accents were changed to either darker or lighter red?

[54170b]

Ok, That is the worst 170 I have ever seen. Here is the picture of the silver version, but remember i have atleast a year to toy with this before I do it.

[54170b]

Not much of a fan for the 2 tone red