IMO, there is no better proof that the USAF is bleeped in the head than the TBirds scheme.
First of all, the topside colors looks like they were designed by an accountant with a pinstripe fetish.
Second, NOBODY can read even 2ft tall 'U.S. Air Force' letters at realistic crowd:aircraft distances so you might as well not ruin the flowing lines
of a stylized symbol which follows the complex curves of the airframe by superimposing all those straight lines on it.
Third, whether against an intense blue, a white skyline or an overcast grey, white is not the best color to try and spot ANY aircraft. Human distance
vision tending to shift to a grey scale of bright vs. dark at any distance beyond about 200ft. As such, magnifying the 'airplane shaped hole in the
sky' effect is best done with dark grey or black if you can keep it clean but any RICH color which has less specular reflectance than the saturated
background is going to stand out better.
Fourth, all that pretty TBird motif is /wasted/ when you consider that, on the ground, the only folks seeing it are crew chiefs behind the ropes and
in the air, the fact that anything manned is essentially a single axis rated airframe means everytime the solos or diamond rolls in will be TOWARDS
showcenter again, flashing nothing but blah-white.
Fifth, none of the colors used are particularly appropriate to the native american themes which employ yellows and pale azure or even turquoise blues
instead of the guards red, royal blue or certainly the white which is shown.
The Soviets, who have to sell themselves at every airshow they go to just to keep eating, know better-
www.gidroaviasalon.com...
www.flanker.free.fr...
www.phys.uu.nl...
www.xplanefreeware.net...
As do the Japanese who actually have quite a bit of talent-
www.chiefwiggles.com...
www.twobobs.net...
aeroweb.brooklyn.cuny.edu...
So do yourself a favor. Since it's 'all hypothetical' anyway and particularly given the Thunderbird can be shown with wings either up (like a
phoenix) or down, reverse the scheme orientation and put it on the dorsal side so that you can give everyone the bird.
KPl.