After seeing many pictures of newly built aircraft, many of them appear to be half painted.
For many years I’ve seen the tail pre-painted, I assume this is either because it is easier to do the fin earlier (less expensive equipment to get men to paint it that high), and partly as a bit of advertising.
Seeing the new BA A380, the tail cone is painted, the ‘belly’, as are engines, are there other reasons?
By: HP81 - 1st November 2012 at 20:57
You often see just the rudder painted, especially on new boeing’s, this is because it’s a balanced surface and needs to weighed and balanced after painting which would mean having to remove it again if it was fitted unpainted.
As already said some assemblies are painted at the time of manufacture.
S.B.
By: ThreeSpool - 1st November 2012 at 18:59
The engines are painted by RR. The moment they arrive in Toulouse they’re unpackaged and slotted into place on the airframe. Airbus don’t paint the engines.
The power-plant is made by Rolls-Royce, the nacelle is made by Aircelle. Either way, the nacelle arrives on the production line already painted.
Sorry to be picky. 😮
By: Matt-100 - 1st November 2012 at 18:40
As ThreeSpool says,
The engines are painted by RR. The moment they arrive in Toulouse they’re unpackaged and slotted into place on the airframe. Airbus don’t paint the engines.
It’s the same story with the tail section and vertical stabilizer, they’re painted in Spain and then transported to Toulouse.
This saves time in the paint shop, where turn-time is critical.
@EGTC The belly’s not been painted yet… it just so happens white is the colour of the composite panels on the belly.
It is also (to some extent), as the thread starter mentions, for advertising reasons – BA did a crew+aircraft photo-shoot in Toulouse last week.
By: ThreeSpool - 1st November 2012 at 16:10
The white parts are composite, and come from the manufacturer already with a – white in this case – protective coating. Having the fin and engine cowling(s) painted saves time in the paint shop, and thus cheaper.
By: EGTC - 1st November 2012 at 15:09
How come the belly is white on the BA A380 and not blue?
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November 1, 2012 at 2:56 pm