Another RC plane...

[Chalenge]

Well, then I guess that begs the question...

Which colors can you see at 9000 ft, so as to eliminate the silhouette effect?

I've had my planes in the clouds, but I just put them into flat spins to get them back lower and then ride the elevator back up!

Transparents on top and opaques on the bottom. I used to be able to see yellows at up to two miles but I would bet I would have trouble today.

[Flench]

Hey, nice plane Mtnman.. never been a fan of flying gliders myself, but they are definitely beautiful and graceful birds.  My tastes run more to the speed stuff.. mainly jets (turbine), Electric Ducted Fans, and pusher prop speed planes...
Thought you might like this video I did, a combination of inflight video, and ground video of a fligt of my Keecat. (Pusher Prop).  Did this video as a tribute to my dad.. we've done htis hobby for 25+ years now, and I did this as a thank you...

http://s94.photobucket.com/albums/l98/Oryon75/?action=view&current=KeecatDad.mp4

Very Nice job you did for your father  Post it on Vimeo .. with a FPV tag .

[mtnman]

Hey, nice plane Mtnman.. never been a fan of flying gliders myself, but they are definitely beautiful and graceful birds.  My tastes run more to the speed stuff.. mainly jets (turbine), Electric Ducted Fans, and pusher prop speed planes...
Thought you might like this video I did, a combination of inflight video, and ground video of a fligt of my Keecat. (Pusher Prop).  Did this video as a tribute to my dad.. we've done htis hobby for 25+ years now, and I did this as a thank you...

http://s94.photobucket.com/albums/l98/Oryon75/?action=view&current=KeecatDad.mp4

Very nice tribute!  It's awesome that you and your dad can find common ground and interests like that.  My son seems to be latching on to my interest in flight and birds of prey too, so that's exciting.

I like the speed aspects of flight too, but have zero (if it's even that high) interest in jets.  I've flown some RC slope planes (gliders) that were blisterin' fast, and had a great time with them.  I also really enjoy a select few of the warbirds (WWI and II, interest in the jets is non-existent) aerobatic biplanes, hang gliders and ultralights. 

My interests are specific and maybe odd though.  I love gliders, but strap an electric motor in or on it, and poof, no more interest for me.  I really like the Hughes 500 helicopters, but I've never seen another helicopter that interests me in the slightest.  Props on the front of planes I'm ok with, put it on the back, nope...  I love the F4U's, B17's, and B25's, and kind of have a slight interest in the P51 and P40.  Offhand, I can't think of another WWII airplane that interests me more than a diaper commercial.  I love archery, but only with primitive equipment.  I love muzzleloaders and muzzleloader hunting, but only as long as we're talking about flintlocks...

My interest in flight is predominately oriented towards birds, specifically raptors.   

[mtnman]

Transparents on top and opaques on the bottom. I used to be able to see yellows at up to two miles but I would bet I would have trouble today.

Ahh, maybe that would work.  

I can't use transparent film though, because I think it looks goofy.  Isn't transparent film on top or bottom kind of pointless though, if you have opaque on the other?  The net effect is opaque, isn't it?  Is it just the difference in color that helps with visibility?

I know when I started out in RC back in the 80's, I used to make an effort to cover my planes with opposing colors (light bottom vs dark or bright top, etc) to help with being able to tell top from bottom, left from right, etc.  At some point I moved past that, and found I didn't need to do that to know what my plane was doing.  I've crashed a lot of planes, but never due to visibility/orientation problems.

I had an aerobatic biplane I covered in yellow, but it's been so long ago I don't remember much about how far out I could see it.  It was a tiny little plane (3' wingspan, .25 motor), and I was never flying it with distance from me or high alt as a goal though.

One problem I've noticed though is that I find myself "watching" the plane, rather than "flying" it.  I'm so used to watching my birds fly that I almost expect it to handle things on its own, lol!

[Chalenge]

The thing about transparent film is allowing people to see your handiwork. My grandfather used to giggle himself silly looking at the planes I built because the pride you put into any hand craft was really different in his era than it is today. But anyway...

The idea is to let the sun in through the top and so the lower surface will appear a little brighter (not shadowed). You already have yours finished though and it will probably be awhile before you need to recover it.

[mtnman]

The thing about transparent film is allowing people to see your handiwork. My grandfather used to giggle himself silly looking at the planes I built because the pride you put into any hand craft was really different in his era than it is today. But anyway...

The idea is to let the sun in through the top and so the lower surface will appear a little brighter (not shadowed). You already have yours finished though and it will probably be awhile before you need to recover it.

Ah, ok.  I understood those aspects.  I thought you were using it as a means to avoid silhouetting.