V-Flyer

Ok so I was stupid enough to enter a thread in airliner.net. Now I've got some guy on at me about the colour of VS fuselage. Apart from the word silver, does anyone else have a suggestion as to what to call it as he's determined that they are white!!

plain?

White? For flight planning purposes (search & rescue information) they are simply silver, red and purple.

Originally posted by G-VOPS
White? For flight planning purposes (search & rescue information) they are simply silver, red and purple.

Thanks, I know I shouldn't have even gone near it but before I knew it I just clicked that post button and then all hell let loose.

Originally posted by ade99
Ok so I was stupid enough to enter a thread in airliner.net. Now I've got some guy on at me about the colour of VS fuselage. Apart from the word silver, does anyone else have a suggestion as to what to call it as he's determined that they are white!!

Well send them here,though saying that if you look at the latest pics the planes are white

edit: ok found the thread,actualy for a A'Net debate that one is pretty nice,at least the guy is answering your replies in a mature,civil way rather than the normal "im right your wrong" way that seems to fill the boards over there.

Hasn't Lady Pen always been a bit whiter than the others?[:?]

[url=http://www.v-flyer.com/forum/flyer_viewphoto.asp?photo_id=2018&airline=&aircraft=¨istration=&airport=&photographer=&keywords=&category=1&lastpos=20&fromsearch=yes]Take a look here[/url]

VS.

Hmm.

White - I think "old" Virgin Atlantic style (literally, white)
Silver - I think American Airlines (literally, silver)

Therefore, I'd say VS is more "metallic grey" (or "gray", for the benefit of a few... )

had a quick look at some photo's, and i think this one shows they are clearly silver - contrast it to the white lufthansa and air france in that same photo!

Originally posted by Richard28
had a quick look at some photo's, and i think this one shows they are clearly silver - contrast it to the white lufthansa and air france in that same photo!

Sorry, have to disagree.

That's grey (in fairness, metallic grey, but grey nonetheless).

THIS is silver. Contrast that to the LH, AF AND VS fuselages.... [:w]



From Wikipedia:

Silver is the metallic shade of the color gray closest to that of polished silver. In heraldry there is no distinction between silver and white, represented as "argent".
The visual sensation usually associated with the metal silver is its metallic shine. This cannot be reproduced by a simple solid color, because the shiny effect is due to the material's brightness varying with the surface angle to the light source. Consequently in art one would normally use a metallic paint that glitters like real silver. A matte grey color like the swatch on this page would not be considered silver.

Hmmm as far as i know the Airbus are silver, the 74's are white.

You can tart the names up all you like but it does just come down to white and silver!!!

I agree with lipstick, I'm sure the 74's are white, not sure about the Airbus though

I'd go with pearlescent...

Originally posted by ade99
Ok so I was stupid enough to enter a thread in airliner.net. Now I've got some guy on at me about the colour of VS fuselage. Apart from the word silver, does anyone else have a suggestion as to what to call it as he's determined that they are white!!

How about Pearlescent

So the conclusion we've come to is that VS aircraft are a pealescent metallic silvery white to grey[:p];)

I think that they are somewhere in between the "eurowhite" style of LH, AF etc. and the shiny AA polished aluminium. They don't glisten in the sun as much as the AA aircraft but are certainly not so "matt" as the AF fleet.

VS.

The VS aircraft wear a special mica-based paint, which gives the pearlescent effect. I'd say they have an off-white/creamy base colour, and the effect depends on the surrounding colours which reflect off the mica in the paint.

As someone mention, one exception was G-VFAB - I think the first to be repainted - which came out more grey, though that's changed since she got the Birthday repaint.

ISTR Air Canada are using a similar mica paint in their new colour scheme, but it's a much cooler shade of white, it's got a hint of green going on.

Cheers,
Mike

how about calling it aluminum?

Originally posted by Jonathan
how about calling it aluminum?

Err no!

Aluminium is not a shade of colour. For the proper answer - you may want to refer here:
http://www.startcreative.co.uk/main636.htm

Start are the creative design partner for Virgin Atlantic, and help them create many of the brand aspects that we are now used to. One of their projects was the colour schemes for the planes. I can't find the page right now, but the colour scheme has a proper name - something like Silver Dream.

Thanks,
Richard

Originally posted by mike-smashing
ISTR Air Canada are using a similar mica paint in their new colour scheme, but it's a much cooler shade of white, it's got a hint of green going on.

Northwest Airlines have also largely copied the VS livery IMHO

Taken from the VS web site (student info section) here (towards the bottom of the page):

Q Who designed the new Virgin Atlantic livery?
A The distinct and dynamic new livery was created by Start Design. Featuring the Union Jack prominently on the aircraft wing, it is based on three core colours of red, purple and silver metallic and employs paint technology never used before on commercial aircraft.

The aircraft tailfins sport the Virgin logo, while the new silver fuselage features the Flying Lady, and the Union Jack adorns the 2m high winglets of the B747-400 aircraft.

Reminiscent of the metallic skinned craft of the 1930s, the iridescent gleam and vibrant colours capture some of the glamour and romance of the golden age of flying.

The basis of Virgin Atlantic's fresh, sophisticated and slick image is the paint which is based on mica, a tough mineral that produces a seductive pearlescent shine. It has been commonly used in the motor trade, but had never before been used to paint an entire aircraft.

Nice one James - knew there was a public piece somewhere.

Thanks,
Richard