Flying 101

[BobR]

Nope, not how to fly, but a plane labeled to help out the aeronautically challenged, or so it seems. I will have to say, it is unlike anything I have seen in paint jobs before.

http://www.gadling.com/2010/01/30/kulula-air-tries-not-to-take-itself-too-seriously/



More pictures at the site.

[Fly320s]

So that's where the rudder is. Good to know. 

[taurusowner]

That's kinda neat.  I bet a 6-8 year old boy would find that kind of thing to be interesting.

[Perd Hapley]

I have always wondered where the kulula fans are located on an airplane.

[Tallpine]

So that's where the rudder is. Good to know. 

You don't need to know anything about the back of the plane.

Just keep steering the front end - the back end will have to follow you. 

[KD5NRH]

That's actually pretty cool; I've had to draw people a picture several times to show where something is, and this would save everybody from my questionable drawing ability.

I wonder how much it would cost to do Cessna 150s and 172s.  It could be great for the local airport's rentals, since they're used mostly for training anyway.

[Boomhauer]

I wonder how much it would cost to do Cessna 150s and 172s.  It could be great for the local airport's rentals, since they're used mostly for training anyway.

A decent, standard paint job will usually cost around $6K or so, I think. Not sure how much setting up all the stencils or having custom decals cut would add to that.

[Fly320s]

I wonder how much it would cost to do Cessna 150s and 172s. 

A decent, standard paint job will usually cost around $6K or so, I think. Not sure how much setting up all the stencils or having custom decals cut would add to that.

Probably the same price for stencils.  The expensive part is the weight and balance paperwork that needs to be done.

[280plus]

So where's the cupholder? And the ashtray... 

[makattak]

So where's the cupholder? And the ashtray... 

OBVIOUSLY they are so labeled inside the plane. GOSH.

[280plus]

My bad... 

[Leatherneck]

Missing labels:

• Lift here
• Do Not Push
• Do not operate drunk
• Slower traffic keep right

TC

[KD5NRH]

Probably the same price for stencils.  The expensive part is the weight and balance paperwork that needs to be done.

Even as decals, I can't see the labeling for a 172 being more than a couple pounds of vinyl, and pretty well distributed over the aircraft.

[Hawkmoon]

You don't need to know anything about the back of the plane.

Just keep steering the front end - the back end will have to follow you.  

That only works if the back end is still attached to the front end, because although the steering wheel is in the front, the steering thingie is on the back. In fact, technically (at least for aircraft similar to that shown), you can't really steer the front end. You steer the back end and it sort of shoves things around and tells the front end which way to go.

[Devonai]

What is a "tail?"  Is that where they keep the horizontal and vertical stabilizers?

[Tallpine]

That only works if the back end is still attached to the front end, because although the steering wheel is in the front, the steering thingie is on the back. In fact, technically (at least for aircraft similar to that shown), you can't really steer the front end. You steer the back and and it sort of shoves things around and tells the front end which way to go.

You expect pilots to understand all that technical jargon 

[RevDisk]

I wonder how much it would cost to do Cessna 150s and 172s.  It could be great for the local airport's rentals, since they're used mostly for training anyway.

Aviation paint is roughly $150 per gallon.   

[41magsnub]

Aviation paint is roughly $150 per gallon.   

Because it flies?   



 

[RocketMan]

So that's where the rudder is. Good to know.  

I told you if you stuck with it long enough, you'd eventually figure it out.  Good job, Fly320s.   

[230RN]

In days of old, when you could wander around an airport parking area without the SWAT team called on you, my son and I found a little canard experimental  parked behind one of the hangars at Boulder Municipal.  We looked in the cockpit and there was a brass plate stuck on the instrument panel.  It said,

DON'T DO ANYTHING STUPID!

I've always wondered if perhaps that was John Denver's plane.

Terry, 230RN

[KD5NRH]

Aviation paint is roughly $150 per gallon.   

Gotta paint 'em anyway.  (extra whiteness is your friend when you don't have an air conditioner in Texas)  At least when granddad worked there, they repainted every few years.

[280plus]

Because it flies?   

Yes, it's lighter than air so when you paint a plane with it the plane becomes much lighter. Saves on fuel cause it takes less energy to get off the ground, up to altitude and stay there.

Problem is you can't forget what you're doing and let go of the can because it will float away. Happens more than you think. 

[seeker_two]

Yes, it's lighter than air so when you paint a plane with it the plane becomes much lighter. Saves on fuel cause it takes less energy to get off the ground, up to altitude and stay there.

Problem is you can't forget what you're doing and let go of the can because it will float away. Happens more than you think. 

So....could I get better gas mileage from my truck if I used aviation paint?....or even frequent flier miles?.... 

[Fly320s]

Even as decals, I can't see the labeling for a 172 being more than a couple pounds of vinyl, and pretty well distributed over the aircraft.

There isn't much added weight, true.  The high costs are because everything that goes on to or into an airplane has to be tested and approved by the FAA.  That, plus liability insurance, increases the price of "aviation parts" by a factor of 5.

The other cost comes from having to do the weight and balance on the flight control surfaces if the vinyl is added to those areas.  That is a little more involved than a whole-airplane W&B.

[280plus]

So....could I get better gas mileage from my truck if I used aviation paint?....or even frequent flier miles?.... 

Yup, both, so I hear.