Apache weathering question (images linked).

[destraudo]

When looking at images of this Apache , i am struck by the darker areas of much lower roughness  on the entire tail section and tail rotor . What exactly am i seeing here. Were these areas in specific washed, if so why there and not elsewhere. I wondered if the entire tail side was resprayed some time in the past (there is still chipping to metal on the details in this cleaner area), but the transitions from cleaner to dirtier does not look quite like that to me especially on the vertical where the rotor connects, could it have been a large previous fluid leak. I am really interested in the logic behind weathering and maintenance patterns . 

 

 

https://www.cybermodeler.com/aircraft/h-64/pages/dayton_ah-64d_04.shtml

https://www.cybermodeler.com/aircraft/h-64/pages/dayton_ah-64d_05.shtml

[Blue Monday]

As far as I know, the darker area that has a wet appearance is the portion of the fuselage that has been subjected to fluids leaking from the transmission and engines as well as hydraulic fluid. I don't think it is the case that that area has been freshly painted. Hope this is of assistance.

 

BM.

[destraudo]

14 hours ago, Blue Monday said:

As far as I know, the darker area that has a wet appearance is the portion of the fuselage that has been subjected to fluids leaking from the transmission and engines as well as hydraulic fluid. I don't think it is the case that that area has been freshly painted. Hope this is of assistance.

 

BM.

 Wow, thank you. Honestly never occurred to me that there could be leaking on that scale. 

[Troffa]

Blue Monday is spot on- Plenty of Transmission and Hydraulic fluids seep onto the Transmission deck and on the Apache's paint scheme a liitle oil goes a long way. in the second Photo you can see a spot on the ground under the Helicopter and also the designed-in hole in the rear fairing that allows fluids to drain out, you also have the Auxiliary Power Unit Exhaust  on that side, just inboard of the No2 Engine Pod. 

 

If it aint leaking, it's underserviced! 🙂 

[Jabba]

28 minutes ago, Troffa said:

 

 

If it aint leaking, it's underserviced! 🙂 

 

Or empty.

[alt-92]

At least that second pic shows that you won't have to worry about panel gaps and smooth putty 😱

[Hook]

On 4/3/2022 at 4:19 PM, Troffa said:

If it aint leaking, it's underserviced!

"The Apache is today's Skyraider. Discuss."

 

 

 

Cheers,

 

Andre 

[FloydWerner]

I can talk a little bit about this.  Army helicopters are painted in a CARC paint which is very rough, think sandpaper.  I had to remove some offensive comment on my Cobra that we added with chalk during Desert Shield.  I used water and rubbed it off along with my fingerprints.  Thank God I wasn't shot down and had to be identified by my fingerprints.   It collects dust and dirt once discolored with oil as it seems in this case it is stained regardless of how many times you wash it and with whatever you wash it with.  It will never look clean no matter how many times you wash it.  This one is pretty weather beaten.  For some reason National Guard aircraft seem to discolor more than regular Army.  No idea why.  

 

I hope this is helpful

Floyd

[Ed Russell]

Great pictures and an interesting comparison to the rather clean RAF ones. When I did one (a long time ago) I was specifically told not to weather it too much, which the pictures confirmed!

https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234921689-wah-64d-apache-172-hobbyboss-armycast/

 

[2DeeBee0]

I can confirm what Floyd has written. The Australian Army helos I work on are painted, in flat, with standard CARC tan & black & also an IR green, but will look almost semi-gloss around the IGB from oil leaks from that thing. However, go to the IRS, especially around the exhaust outlet, you'd swear you were touching 400 grit sandpaper. Despite the nature of what that cowl is supposed to do, the heat off that exhaust is still around 400 deg C which just cooks the paint. Now throw into the mix a product called ZOK which we inject into the engines during a compressor wash after flight in a saline environment. It's designed to clean the compressor - when burnt with AVTUR, it turns said exhaust area black as the A of spades. No amount of a/c washing will remove that. It stains the paint permanently. 

When it comes to weathering your model, it's up to you how it looks. But knowing a bit about how we conduct maintenance & the effect different chemicals have on the surface finish of the a/c, gives an understanding that these things will never look like a civ helo that flies once a week. In other words, go nuts on the weathering.

And yeah, we're not flying -64's yet, but they're all pretty much the same. The middle stage of the MTR 390 engine on the helo's I work on is the same as the RTM 322 of the British AH1

Edited May 23, 2022 by 2DeeBee0

[Michael A.]

Floyd Werner; 4 May 22

For some reason National Guard aircraft seem to discolor more than regular Army.  No idea why.  

 

Some observations on this may be in order.  Having spent roughly 3.5 years in National Guard Aviation organizations (circa early 70's) I can attest to the fact that the aircraft are washed regularly. Makes for good 'busy work' on Sunday afternoons for weekend warriors.  Another observed phenomenon is the fact that the NCOIC supervising the wash rack activities is usually the fulltime ARNG technician responsible for the particular aircraft you are washing.  Once the Flight Facility's work week resumes 'his's' aircraft is all shiny and FMC, thanks to his diligent mentoring of the average weekend warrior.