Development and Evaluation of a Near Infrared Reflecting and Low Visibility PaintScheme for RAAF P-3C Orion Aircraft

摘要

In this report, the development and trialling of a tactical, low visibility paintscheme (LVPS) for RAAF P-3C Orion aircraft is discussed. The LVPS was formulated in grey colors using solar heat reflecting pigments to reduce overheating problems which had resulted in the abandonment of an earlier camouflage trial. The paint scheme, which is one of several schemes under consideration by RAAF, employs strict countershading principles with pale grey underneath the aircraft, light grey on the fuselage sides and vertical flight control surfaces and mid-grey on top of the fuselage and upper flight control surfaces. Evaluation of the paint scheme was carried out at RAAF Edinburgh under summertime conditions and showed that the increase in heat load by use of the solar heat reflecting paint scheme (SHR)-LVPS on the Environmental Control System (ECS) of the aircraft was 0.53 kW compared with the existing paint scheme. This compares favorably with the reported heat load increase of 1.7 kW for counter-shaded aircraft using conventionally formulated grey paints. It is concluded that the use of the SHR-LVPS would have essentially no effect on P-3C operational temperatures except under severe environmental conditions where an increase in temperatures of 0.3 deg C in the cabin and 1.3 deg C at the flight stations could be expected.