lesthegringo Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 Just curious, really, but does anyone know why Russian aircraft paint those bits of their aircraft that bright green colour? Les Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasman71 Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 Mr Duffey may know the answer to that if he sees this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andym Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 As I understand it it's not a paint but the colour of the actual dielectric material they are made of. HTHAndy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flankerman Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 (edited) That can't be true of both radomes/dielectric panels AND wheel hubs - surely. I've been trying for years to find out why the wheels are green - I was told that it is an old traditional artillery colour - but can't find confirmation. I tried asking an English-speaking crew member on the Tu-95MS that visited Fairford in 1993 - why are all Russian wheel hubs painted green?. He looked puzzled as to why I would ask such a daft question - then answered in a heavy Russian accent..... "Iz not significant" (his Tu-95MS wheel hubs were a shade of tan BTW) The dielectric fibreglass panels and radomes are a different shade of green to the wheels...... ..... and later radomes/panel (on Sukhois) are white - or sometimes a mix of the two. ... and the wheel colour is not consistent...... The short answer is ..... we don't really know. Ken Edited December 2, 2015 by Flankerman 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bjorn Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 (edited) Can it be some kind of primer? Details, such as choice of colours, have never been of interest for Russian aircraft producers. So I guess that the answer is that they are green since they are green and have always been. And that noone realy cares, since in their eyes it is - just as the pilot said - not significant. Edit. I found this answer in a thread on the same subject: (http://www.pprune.org/spectators-balcony-spotters-corner/525839-green-wheels-russia.html) I recently attended the ILA show in Berlin and asked same ? of a Polish AF chap who was ground crew for their MiG29. His immediate response was that the green paint served to identify parts of an a/c which needed particular attention or caution in handling. In the case of the wheels, it was because of their magnesium content with associated fire risk. He added that the engine compartment also had some green-painted areas, for the same reason. I suppose that the dull paint would also serve to better show points of corrosion than would white or silver. Whatever, I'm convinced. Edited December 2, 2015 by Bjorn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lesthegringo Posted December 2, 2015 Author Share Posted December 2, 2015 Thanks guys. If nothing else, it means no one will ever challenge my choice of colours for these areas! Les Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kes Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 I've often wondered this to the extent that I asked the curator of the Soviet aircraft museum at Riga airport last year, I have no idea what he said I couldn't understand his thickly accented Latvian English?? . . . Kes (who was massively impressed by the physical size of their MiG25R ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
general melchett Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 (edited) Interesting question. I also asked a few people and the consensus seemed to be set more in a historical context than anything else with a link to green artillery pieces. Apparently, uring the war an artillery factory also producing aircraft wheels started painted them using the same paint to either show company ownership or because it was expedient to do so, whichever reason the tradition was continued with to this day. (The Tu-160 being an exception to the rule)... Edited May 16, 2019 by general melchett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flankerman Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 (edited) (The Tu-160 being an exception to the rule)... The Tu-95MS has tan-coloured main wheel hubs (and a green nosewheel!) - and the latest PAK-FA wheel hubs are silver. Maybe the 151st Peoples Green Paint Zavod has finally completed its quota of green paint set in Soviet times? Ken Edited December 5, 2015 by Flankerman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kari Lumppio Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 Hello! What follows is only my personal thinking. I do not know why green was the chosen colour. But the tone surely is similar to Chromium Oxide Green pigment ( http://www.naturalpigments.com/chromium-oxide-green-pigment.html ). It is very steady pigment and used as the sole colouring agent would guarantee good colour retaining under exposure to elements. IIRC WW2-era A-24 Green had chrome green plus yellow and such iron oxides with black as the green color pigments. Sort of "brunscwick" green and olive green mixture. The radome green may have been pure crome oxide green, at least this is my vivid memory from my shortish time in the FinnAF MiG-21 BIS overhauls 1989. Someone already mentioned magnesium protection. I do have somewhere on separate hard disk a Finnish translation of original Soviet manual how to treat magnesium part for corrosion inhibiting (cannot really be stopped). It was used is the FinnAF MiG-21 maintenance. Unfortunately there is nothing for modeller because colours are not really mentioned. As usual in aeronautical engineering, colour is of no importance, the protection capability is all. Cheers, Kari 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kes Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 Could be to camouflage the wheels in the deep grass of Russian air fields so they look like they're hovering?!?! Ha! . . . Kes (being 'highly' speculative?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sloegin57 Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 As usual in aeronautical engineering, colour is of no importance, the protection capability is all. I do wish that more modellers would try and remember that !!. Dennis (his emphasis) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
At Sea Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 To give us a use for Matt 30? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harvy5 Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 As a technician, I can tell you from ..Green on the wheel is diametrally different from the Antenna.To 12 hours technologies? Not a problem!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harvy5 Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 rom what time you want color? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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