Re: Panel Lines

Tom Hiett wrote:
> Rufus <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
>
> > Tom Hiett wrote:
>
>
> > > I dunno. We drive by a A-7 on a pylon occasionally outside a military base
> > > and not only can we see the panel lines while on the road at 40mph, it
> > > looks exactly like a preshaded model! 
>
>
> > I drive past lots of aircraft on pedistals too, and I notice that lots 
> > of them ARE painted like models - particularly if they have a glossy 
> > finish.  We have a recently restored and mounted an AV8A here as 
> > memorial which is particularly overdone, IMHO...
> >
> > A "working" aircraft is a different looking animal entirely.
>
>
> I don't think has been restored, nor am I implying all planes on pylons
> are all correct or all incorrect... It sat on base for a few years  before
> it was put on the pylon. No restoration work is evident then or now.
>
> Tom

The one (two, actually) examples I'm thinking of came from a test 
facility that perfomed destructive testing on the carcasses.  The 
airframes have been restored externally, and IMO drastically over 
painted for effect - the latest AV8A in particular.  Really funny 
looking, as they are 25+ year old jets.  We also have some non-mounted 
ones we roll around as needed for ceremonies...our A-7 is pretty shiney 
as well - looks "weird" on the line next to the flyers.

I see goodly number of these scattered about SoCal - they don't really 
start looking like "working" aircraft until they've sat out under the 
desert sun for a few years...at which point the municipality has them 
repainted and the saga begins anew...

--
     - Rufus