exilencfc

Looks amazing. It will be interesting to see if the extra heat absorption does have an effect

Firewind

exilencfc, I was going to say the same thing, but have maybe been too harsh in this thread. But this: "...e.g., on parts that might otherwise be prone to overheat, such as up around the roof by the tail, and on the shell itself, at 200+ degrees F and then at -54F?"

Anyway, before I jumped before looking, I nosed around, and learned that NZ has other black planes, including a 777 announced on FT's NZ board a couple years ago. There is mention of leaving the air conditioning on all the time when passengers are on board, but I wonder about when one sits out on the tarmac all of a midsummer's day, all by its lonesome.

Paging planemechanic.

WHBM

This has been known about for a long time, principally when at altitude near the equator with the sun directly overhead. Yes, it's minus-whatever outside but the radiant heat just acts directly on the aircraft skin and what's inside.

The old BOAC were a pioneer of this in the late 1940s when all aircraft tended to be unpainted aluminium all over, they had an issue when in the tropics of over-hot flight decks (there were reports of the pilots flying just in their underwear !), and painted the front top of the aircraft white, which was found to give a noticeable improvement. This was soon extended to the full length of the aircraft and became a standard everywhere.

I generally feel that "new" liveries with dark tops are done by corporate identity designers who have no clue about aviation practicalities. The old British Midland were involved in an incident some years ago at London Heathrow where they were on the runway and an incoming aircraft got too close. The incident report stated that the grey top, on a grey low-visibility day, contributed to the incoming crew not noticing they were there. BMI got taken over before they could do a livery redesign.

Notably London's red buses, which in recent times have had summertime complaints about being hot (they are not air-conditioned) have had a livery redesign, and all now have white roofs. You can't see this from street level but you do when above them.

tmorse6570

To answer the original question. Nope.

Firewind

The SR-71 is black. A colleague flew it a few times. Not his assignment per se, but he was in a position to be allowed the privilege. He took a group of us to an air museum that has one. It had a large oil pan on the floor under it, with oil. He said that his colleagues and he used to jokingly call it "the flying oil can" and "x,000 parts flying in the same direction at Mach 3". That was how it was deliberately designed -- its skin's (term?) seams and other parts were separated so that they could expand into place at altitude/speed.

Thus the comment above that NZ's black planes will probably see some greater heat variation - frequently - than many commercial airliners. Now, as this paint job is very much like an "aftermarket" product, one wonders if Boeing factored this in to the NZ planes, with both aluminum and composite skins. They must have.

planemechanic?


ETA: Come to think of it, the SR-71's shell was composite, no?

planemechanic

Not really my area of expertise.


Titanium I believe.

Sheikh Yerbooty

Had my first ride in one a couple of weeks ago and, honestly, it's no big deal. The only major difference between it and previous Boeing wide-bodies, is that it's just about as quiet as an Airbus. On the bright side are the bigger, or rather taller windows, and that's about it. On the downside is a lethargic air-conditioning system, which can certainly be felt during a prolonged ground stop in the desert. All in all, it's just another tube with wings.

VivoPerLei

I had my first flight on the 787 the other day courtesy of QR, and I thought it was a very pleasant experience. Given the alternatives (777/747, etc.) I would definitely choose it again.

Firewind

FAA lengthens 787-8's tether to 5.5 hours from nearest effective airstrip...

http://seattletimes.com/html/busines...7etopsxml.html

Firewind

http://seattletimes.com/html/busines...buzz07xml.html

84fiero

The SR-71 was mostly titanium with some generally non-structural composite materials for radar absorption and other reasons.

During operations it wasn't only oil that leaked from the gaps in the skin while on the ground, but JP-7 jet fuel. Only a small amount of fuel was provided for takeoff with the plane refueling at altitude to proceed with its mission.

My main qualm with flying on the 787 is that so many airlines, with few exceptions, have chosen to cram more narrow seats into its Y cabin. Not that many aren't doing the same on other longhaul aircraft. But for now at least, I'll go with other models with a bit more room.

CitizenWorld

I'd love to know if anyone noticed the suppose lower altitude of cabin pressure. Still dying to fly on a 787.

Firewind

WSJ says says it's all good...

http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell...ing-dividends/

@84fiero and planemechanic: Thanks.

SANspotter

Quoting myself because I've actually got a transpac 787 flight coming up in a couple weeks. This will be my first time on a 787, so obviously, my thoughts have changed on the matter - I won't be apprehensive at all about stepping foot on that airplane.

Firewind

http://seattletimes.com/html/busines...atteryxml.html

...Not the source document ... A report of the report.