Paint schemes

[Bissetg]

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I’m not sure there is such a thing as a bad scheme for a Bearhawk?

I like high viz in the see and be seen world of VFR. I went for contrast to achieve it. If you are after a single colour hi viz scheme I’d go for cub yellow. There are some really cool schemes that are well designed with other colours too.

[Pbruce]

Good idea. I keep finding the same few photos of the same aircraft on the ‘net. Its interesting to find others. There is that one from the south Vietnamese Air Force still on board the USS Midway. The pilot flew 100 miles offshore on the day Saigon fell, then landed on the deck of the Midway with his wife and five children on board. That’s like seven people in a BH!

[LSA052]

Good idea. I keep finding the same few photos of the same aircraft on the ‘net. Its interesting to find others. There is that one from the south Vietnamese Air Force still on board the USS Midway. The pilot flew 100 miles offshore on the day Saigon fell, then landed on the deck of the Midway with his wife and five children on board. That’s like seven people in a BH!

That's in the Naval Air Museum in Pensacola, Fl

[SpruceForest]

Yes...might be a way to get a tacti-cool paint job and still have high vis features for air-to-air and air-to-ground. Love to see what you come up with...not that I'm super-close to needing ideas, but I have a wall of shots that provide some motivation.

On installed seats versus the number of folks that can be jammed into an aircraft... yup. Third seat mod for Patrol???

[alaskabearhawk]

Oldie but a goodie. I’m painting my BH yellow for just that reason…visibility. I’ve been on a number of searches with Civil Air Patrol and looking for a white (fill in the blank) with red trim is difficult at best.
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[Mark Dickens]

I haven't given paint a lot of thought yet, but all this talk has me thinking and wondering if vinyl accents can be used over the painted fabric part of the plane. Since it appears I'm damned to paint this thing myself, details like N numbers and accent stripes have me wondering if that's an option. What say ye?

[Bissetg]

Hi Mark. I went to the local signwriter and got them to cut my registration and pewter Grey trim lines in vinyl. I then used some of the left over to make my bear paws. Definitely an option.

[jaredyates]

I haven't given paint a lot of thought yet, but all this talk has me thinking and wondering if vinyl accents can be used over the painted fabric part of the plane. Since it appears I'm damned to paint this thing myself, details like N numbers and accent stripes have me wondering if that's an option. What say ye?

Vinyl will work for a while, perhaps a long while, but it does have a life span shorter than fabric. I like the option of using a vinyl cutter to make designs out of special stencil material. The material is made with a temporary adhesive, so you can stick it on the airplane, then spray your paint, and then remove the product. That way you get the capabilities of the vinyl cutter and the life span of paint. 303AP has vinyl registration numbers and while they are still there these 20 years later, they have shrunk slightly. But considering the life they have lived, I'd say it's a win.

I keep a 24" wide roll of the material on hand and can make things for you (especially Bearhawk logs and such), though if you have a local sign shop who is willing to do the work for you, by all means use them! As for any straight lines like stripes, I used 3m fine line tape. The half inch size was a good compromise of flexibility and coverage. The fine line tape would be the first thing at the paint edge, then I'd attach the rest of the masking paper to the plane with cheap paper masking tape, stuck to the paper and to the fine line tape.

[Chewie]

One paint edge trick I heard was to lay the tape and then spray along the edge first with a pass of the same color as the base. Any bleed will be hidden (same color), and it seals the edge to prevent further bleed when you come in with the accent color. Haven't tried this in practice yet.

[rodsmith]

I used that technique when I painted my Maule with Aerothane and it worked great. Using Stewarts system I remove the tape shortly after painting the trim color as it leaves a smoother edge than removing after the paint dries. Any bleed through can easily be removed with a q-tip and isopropyl alcohol. Has to be done within a couple hours of painting.

[alaskabearhawk]

I'm still not 100% I will keep the 12 in registration numbers., so I went with vinyl for them. I got both sides done from AeroGraphics for $104, including postage. If I don't care for the 12in numbers I can always take them off and put on some 3in numbers. If you plan on flying in Canada they require the 12in numbers. Some guys that ferry aircraft to/from Alaska just put on temporary numbers with tape. The folks at AeroGraphics were great to deal with and the prices are very reasonable. www.aerographics.com

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[rv8bldr]

Paul, I think if you have an American registered aircraft you don't need 12" numbers. Canadian registered aircraft need 12" on the fuselage sides OR 19" under the wing with 6" on the fin.

[jaredyates]

Paul, I think if you have an American registered aircraft you don't need 12" numbers. Canadian registered aircraft need 12" on the fuselage sides OR 19" under the wing with 6" on the fin.

We need them when we leave the US.

[rv8bldr]

Jared, I thought that was only when you crossed an ADIZ (like going to the Bahamas....) There is no ADIZ between the US and Canada on the continental land mass (I think). I see LOTS of American aircraft up here with little reg numbers.

[jaredyates]

That sounds good too, I haven't tried it yet.

[alaskabearhawk]

The only ADIZ that I'm aware of is when people fly the coastal route (Alaska panhandle). Some like to wait for good weather and fly direct from PAKT to KBLI and completely bypass Canadian customs and fuel prices. The ADIZ is very close to the coast in that area.