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Aviation

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    $\begingroup$ is this also the reason why military planes are not white? $\endgroup$
    – user13107
    Commented Mar 17, 2014 at 7:01
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    $\begingroup$ I'm not so sure about white being easy to spot - at least in my personal experience. The most visible plane I've ever seen was painted an utterly hideous shade of yellow-green (about the same color they paint the ARFF trucks) - I saw that thing buzzing away in the pattern when I was about 8 miles from the airport and never lost sight of it! $\endgroup$
    – voretaq7
    Commented Mar 17, 2014 at 16:09
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    $\begingroup$ @user13107 White is actually pretty hard to spot when looking up at it, particularly if there are clouds. This is why some airplanes have white tops (easier to spot with the ground as a backdrop) and dark colored bottoms which stand out from the sky. $\endgroup$
    – Lnafziger
    Commented Mar 17, 2014 at 18:39
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    $\begingroup$ And consider that a lot of birds and especially fish do it the other way around, lighter underneath ;-) $\endgroup$
    – Steve Jessop
    Commented Mar 17, 2014 at 19:24
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    $\begingroup$ @SteveJessop, yeah, countershading is very effective. That's partly why military aircraft are often camo on top, lighter solid underneath. $\endgroup$
    – egid
    Commented Mar 17, 2014 at 23:31