wolit@rabbit.UUCP (Jan Wolitzky) (06/29/84)
While thinking of what to do about the badly fading paint job on my 8-year old Grumman Cheetah, it occurred to me that while quite a few commercial airlines have decided to forego the expense, downtime, and weight of paint on their jetliners, nearly all general aviation planes are completely covered with paint. Is there any good reason for this -- does it prevent corrosion, for instance -- or is it only a matter of habit and/or esthetics? It seems to me that bare aluminum would form a thin oxide layer that would inhibit further deterioration, but it would be painful to be proved wrong the hard way! I realize that the weight savings wouldn't amount to much on a light single, but a new paint job costs a few thousand bucks, and besides, the "great silver bird" look isn't too bad compared to the Wichita standard "any- color-you-want-as-long-as-it's-white". Any ideas out there? Jan Wolitzky, AT&T Bell Labs, Murray Hill, NJ