So. Should all airplanes have dark wings then?

Wow; 20% is hard to believe. It also seems like they would've figured this out on airliners by now if it carried over from birds to planes, considering the lengths they will go to save a tiny percentage of fuel.

WRT to black leading edges, I've always said that would be a feature I'd add if I ever paint a plane. @FlyingMonkey did it on his cherokee 6, and not only does it look great, but he picked up a little rime ice in a video and it was very obvious. In theory it should help any accumulated ice melt off as well. I don't think I'd want the whole wing black though as I'd be afraid of the fuel tank getting hot and venting fuel.
 
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Here's a curious twist on that theme. We painted the leading edges on the C206 blue at the suggestion of the paint shop, and I think it was just for appearance. But one weird side effect is that with fairly rapid changes in temperature (e.g. on landing) there is an audible "pop" and the leading edge has a slight indentation, which later pops back out on its own.

246VT05.jpg
 
John Spartan said:
Thoughts?
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While it might help with one task it may cause other issues especially with composite/fabric aircraft or various structural bonding applications. For example, at one time a black and white checkered paint scheme was used on helicopter main rotor blades to increase visibilty in flight. However it was changed to white/orange as in some locations the black surfaces would exceed 160 degress when parked which was a higher temp than the cure temp of the "glue" used to bond trim tabs to the blade. While dark colors can be used just need to make sure there are no underlying issues beforehand.
 
Jim K said:
Wow; 20% is hard to believe. It also seems like they would've figured this out on airliners by now if it carried over from birds to planes, considering the lengths they will go to save a tiny percentage of fuel.

WRT to black leading edges, I've always said that would be a feature I'd add if I ever paint a plane. @FlyingMonkey did it on his cherokee 6, and not only does it look great, but he picked up a little rime ice in a video and it was very obvious. In theory it should help any accumulated ice melt off as well. I don't think I'd want the whole wing black though as I'd be afraid of the fuel tank getting hot and venting fuel.
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Just go all black

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Our CAP airplanes had a big red stripe on the top of the wings - dark enough to absorb heat from the sun - the stripe would often be clear of ice or snow, while the white surface would remain frozen.
 
Jim K said:
Bro...Darkwing Duck? Do you even Millenial? :p
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I’m solidly Gen X (56 years old) and know Darkwing Duck. Animaniacs and Ren & Stimpy, too. It gets kind of boring to go along with the gomers who say that you have to age.
 
I’ve spent hours trying to melt ice off of black rotor blades. Yes, when the sun comes out they’ll be the first to clear but if that’s the case (sunny day) ice probably won’t be an issue anyway. In flight, doesn’t matter the color, doesn’t even matter the blades are spinning, ice sticks to them like glue. Now, any increase in lift being black? Seriously doubt it.
 
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RyanShort1 said:
This is a case where I suspect that there may be more to the design of those birds than the study acknowledges.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Correlation_does_not_imply_causation
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Pulling up the original paper, I was having the same thoughts...

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsif.2021.0236

Plus statements like this give me pause.

"Finally, these findings have biomimetic potential as they can be implemented on low-speed planes, drones and glider aircrafts, more specifically, all-electric planes often proposed as the future of green aviation. One of the major drawbacks of these aircrafts is that, similar to the albatrosses, they are heavy. However, as they fly at relatively low speeds, some within the range tested in this study, it is plausible that dark wings might provide a biomimetic solution to oppose the heavy weights of these planes"​
 
ElPaso Pilot said:
Pulling up the original paper, I was having the same thoughts...

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsif.2021.0236

Plus statements like this give me pause.

"Finally, these findings have biomimetic potential as they can be implemented on low-speed planes, drones and glider aircrafts, more specifically, all-electric planes often proposed as the future of green aviation. One of the major drawbacks of these aircrafts is that, similar to the albatrosses, they are heavy. However, as they fly at relatively low speeds, some within the range tested in this study, it is plausible that dark wings might provide a biomimetic solution to oppose the heavy weights of these planes"​
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Oh, and negative 15 points on that paper for the use of "biomimetic" when suggesting painting electric airplane wings dark colors to offset heavy battery weights "as the future of green aviation".
 
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