History & Records

Have You Ever Wondered Why Airplanes Are Usually Painted White? Here’s why

Published

3 years ago

November 14, 2020

Have You Ever Wondered Why Airplanes Are Usually Painted White? Here’s why

Without doubts, this question is perhaps something that most travelers, even frequent flyers have wondered about, but have never bothered to ask: why are airplanes usually painted white ? Well, every airline has its own distinctive branding or livery, which comprises of colour, graphic, and typographical identifiers. But if you take a closer look underneath any airplane, you’ll find out that nearly all passenger aircraft are painted white, and here are a few reasons for that below:

1. Planes are white to keep them cool

One of the main reasons aircraft are painted white is because they spend a lot of time in the sun. When airplanes are painted other colours, they will absorb most of the light and heat from the sun, thereby causing over heating of airplanes and may lead to dangers/faults. But a largely white paintwork will help to reflect some of that heat away from the aircraft, thereby stopping it from becoming a furnace.

2. It helps for detection for any signs of damages in airplanes more easily.

For obvious safety reasons, commercial aircraft are regularly checked for forms of surface damage such as cracks and dents. Infact, no other color will help reveal all these listed damages than a white paint, as these dents, oil spills and other faults are dark in color which will make it more easy to be identified and repaired swiftly as it is seen on the white paint.

In addition, white planes are also easier to see in the dark, and will be much easier to locate in the event of a crash if they land in a densely forested area, or in a large body of water.

3. It reduces bird strikes in airplanes.

Do you know what a bird strike is? Well, a bird strike is defined as a collision between a bird and an aircraft which is in flight or one that is taking off, landing, or in low altitude flight. Infact, research has revealed that bird strikes are one common issue airplanes are likely to face when in flight. Meanwhile, this can pose serious treats to airplanes including its safety.

4. White color doesn’t fade easily

Colored aircraft usually suffers from fading paintwork over time, thereby increasing the repainting cycle compared to a white painted airplane. Meanwhile, this fading is usually caused due to over exposure of airplanes to various atmospheric condition. Conclusively, if an airplane is painted white, there’s no significant difference in appearance even even after spending a huge amount of time in the air.