Aa Metal Scheme

[ta152]

Do any of you know if the cost to keep AA aircraft mostly bare metal and shiney is more than it would be if they would paint the planes. I am talking over the life of the aircraft in operation. I know it must cost some amount of hours to keep the aircraft polished as I have seen older airlines that did not polish their bare metal and they looked dirty. eg TransTexasAirlines in the 60's.

Also if anyone knows, approx. how much it costs to paint a med. size plane such as an Airbus 319, MD-80, or 737 ?

 

[B.O.B.]

American Airlines doesn't paint their planes, because it saves on fuel. Also, AA polished aircrafts look super cool!

 

[FWAAA]

Here's a Boeing document discussing the financials of paint v. polished:

http://www.boeing.com/commercial/aeromagaz...ly/fo01txt.html

Short answer? Paint can be more costly, but so can polished aluminum. It all depends.

 

[ta152]

Thank you FWAAA That is more than I ever hoped for. I too like the bare metal look. I hope they don't change it.

 

[FWAAA]

Thank you FWAAA That is more than I ever hoped for. I too like the bare metal look. I hope they don't change it.

[post="297864"][/post]​

You're welcome.

But get used to more AA paint if AA is able to afford the 787; there isn't any polished aluminum on that baby.

Maybe Boeing can develop a lightweight chrome plate option for AA. Now that would be shiny.

 

[electradude]

...or they could do what they did with the BAC One-11 (or "400 Astrojet") in the 60's. They had a silver mylar film (I believe) cover the center section above the wings which was a dingey colored alloy. The problem with the "400" was that as the rest of the planes metal parts aged....the center section remained bright and shiney. Maybe they could do that with the 787...

 

[AirwAr]

Has there ever been talk about Eagle following the same non-paint scheme as AA? I wish they would...I really like the polished look.

 

[AirwAr]

Short answer? Paint can be more costly, but so can polished aluminum. It all depends.

[post="297863"][/post]​

I would think, though, that at some fuel price point, polished would have a distinct advantage over paint.

 

[Wretched Wrench]

Incipient failures are easier to detect when inspecting an unpainted skin. Think of Hawaii.


Skydrol leaks can be wiped without removing paint, too.

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