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Why are airplanes commonly painted white?



There are exceptions. Air New Zealand once turned a Boeing 777 into a giant ad for Lord of the Rings, Mango, based in Johannesburg, utilises a bright orange hue, while Siberian carrier S7 tends to colour its planes lime green. But the vast majority of passenger aircraft are painted white. Why?

It’s cheaper



“Paint adds between 600-1,200 lbs (273-544 kg) of weight to an aircraft,” a spokesperson for Boeing told Telegraph Travel. Extra weight means more fuel is burned, and 544kg equates to around eight passengers. 
And airlines take the issue of weight very seriously. In the 1980s, for example, Robert Crandall, the former chief executive of American Airlines, claimed the carrier had made annual savings of $40,000 by removing just one olive from every salad served on board its flights.
The paint itself costs money too, and repainting an aircraft uses a lot of it. “Approximately 120 gallons (454 litres) of paint are used on a typical 747; 90 gallons (341 litres) on a 767; and 110 gallons (416 litres) on a 777, while a typical 787 Dreamliner paint scheme involves 800-1000 lbs (362-453 kg) of paint,” said Boeing. All told, repainting a plane costs between £36,375 ($50,000) and £145,503 ($200,000). 
Furthermore, airlines often end up selling their aircraft to other carriers. They will find it harder to do so if the colour scheme is anything but white. 

Reducing the plane’s heat absorption as much as possible keeps cooling costs down.
Reducing the plane’s heat absorption as much as possible keeps cooling costs down. CREDIT: AP

It keeps the plane cool


In the same way that lighter colours dominate our summer wardrobes because they are cooler, aircraft are painted white to reflect sunlight.
“The main reason why aircraft are painted white or light colours is to reflect sunlight and minimise both the heating and any potential damage from solar radiation,” R. John Hansman, Aeronautics and Astronautics professor, told Business Insider.
Plane features made of plastic and composite materials such as carbon fiber and fiberglass need the most protection from the heat of the sun. Therefore parts such as the nose cone of the plane, where the aircraft radar lives, and the control surfaces, which are made of composite materials, are all usually painted white or light grey, he explained.   
Concorde had to be painted with a special highly reflective white paint so it could withstand the heat generated from supersonic travel.
“The power was gained using an engine reheat, where fuel is pumped into the jet pipe and set alight to give extra thrust,” British Airways said. “Concorde reached 127°C at the nose and trailing edge, but special white paint helped reflect and radiate heat. Its reflectivity was 80 out of 100, compared to the rating of normal white paint of 45-50 out of 100.”


The Concorde was painted with a special highly reflective white paint
The Concorde was painted with a special highly reflective white paint CREDIT: GETTY

Damage control

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The white colour of most aircraft makes it easier for any cracks, dents, oil spills and other faults to be identified and repaired swiftly.

Search and rescue

It depends where the crash occurs, but, should a plane go down, a white fuselage may well be easier to spot more from the air - another good reason for avoiding colour.

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