So i saw a post on FB about the changing colour of the Tutors to yellow:
Many of our followers have noticed a new colour in the skies above RAF Wittering.
An RAF Wittering Grob Tutor T1 is one of three aeroplanes taking part in a new trial assessing methods of improving the conspicuity of the training aircraft. The first aircraft has been painted yellow and black; a combination of colours believed to be particularly conspicuous to the human eye.
Wing Commander Gordon Pell is the senior pilot at RAF Wittering. He said: âFor safety reasons, the RAFâs training aircraft have, in recent years, been painted all over black to make them more visible. The aircraft schemes will be assessed by MoD Boscombe Down and I am looking forward to seeing what the results of the trial might be.â
in the 1940s training aircraft were yellow (Harvards, Cubs, Moths etc) there have been moves to the âRippleâ red, white and blue, and then black use by the Hawks and Tucanos, while Tutors were white and Fireflys yellow.
(while Gliders have always been white)
Is anyone else thinking this is the RAF going full circle??
what can be gained from this âtrialâ that isnât already known 60, 70 even 80 years ago???
Visibility will be one of the arguments, but I remember from when they were introduced and a black scheme was mooted that it couldnât be done due to heat.
This will be less of a trial of visibility and more of a trial of how sustainable the colour is on the plastic airframe.
Yeah, but everything in the RAF is run by committee. Especially when itâs an aircraft that isnât really owned by the RAF⌠Imagine the hoops and contract re-writing Serco will be demanding for changing the colour?!
The black and black/yellow schemes came in ii the mid 1990s to increase conspicuity for aircraft routinely operating at low level. The first being the Hawks, then the Tucanos and lastly the Bulldogs and Dominies, albeit the Dominies retained a white roof to prevent overheating of the cabin as well as light aircraft grey wings to prevent fuel tank overheating.
The reason the Fireflies were yellow is down to the fact that the airframe was built of composites (GRP) and could not be painted black for structural reasons. I foresee the same happening with the the Tutors, although whether the carbon composite will take it I donât know.
Certainly in the gliding world the only glass ship I can think of that was coloured was the Pik-20 (i used to own a share in one).
Iâm pretty sure the yellow stripes on the Bulldogs denoted CFS machines. I remember them at Cranwell but I donât recall UAS aircraft having the yellow stripes.
Itâs also worth pointing out that the Jetstreams of 45ÂŽSqn retained the red/white/grey trainer scheme because they didnât routinely operate at low level.
Iâm taxing my memory now but Iâm fairly certain that I flew AEF in some black and yellow Bulldogs somewhere. That definitely wouldnât have been Cranwell.
Black was adopted after research. Deemed at the time to be the most conspicuous, but as others have said, yellow (undersides) was the wartime colour for training aircraft. Black undersides and yellow topsides should give good conspicuity when viewed from above or below - yellow against the earth and black against the sky. (White against earth is good.) Remember we spot movement against a backdrop with our peripheral vision.
The Black schemes, as I stated earlier, came in for training aircraft routinely operating at low level - it gives a good contrast against the sky when the aircraft turns.
Hence the Jetstreams at Cranwell remained in the earlier âSupport Commandâ scheme, and the later King Airs (and now Phenoms) were (are) white.
Thatâs XS709 âMâ. That was the first of 20 Dominies to be delivered (originally in Silver and Dayglo Orange) in 1965. It was also the last of 11 Dominies to be upgraded to DAU (Dominie Avionics Upgrade) specification and the only one to be delivered from Marshalls in the Black/White/Grey scheme in 1997 (the other 10 having been delivered in the original Red/White/Grey).
Interestingly âMâ was the heaviest in the fleet in terms of ZFW so you didnât use it for overseas NAAFI runs!
The first Black/White/Grey aircraft was XS739 âFâ which was repainted and delivered in mid 1997 complete with a Playboy Bunny on the fin as an homage to Hugh Hefnerâs Boeing 727.
