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Back to toned down markings again ....?


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Hi Guys ,

3 weeks ago I was at Fallon and I noticed that the F/A-18 line birds were painted very dull , we already have seen some Jolly Rogers jets :

JollyRoger204.jpg

JollyRoger211.jpg

But the JR's still wears their Skull and crossbones but VFA-2 beats them by a mile , see for yourself :

Bullet114.jpg

Has there been issued a new regulation concerning the line bird markings by the US Navy...???

Cheers , Henk

Edited by sundowner
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There was a pretty heated discussion about this a few weeks back as I recall specifically involving VF-103, but I think maybe the thread got locked down? Basically, the answer is yes, whoever is in charge right now seems to believe EXTREMELY lo-vis is the way to go...I think I heard they even have regs for how big the tail letters can be and where on the tail they must be located. I think they're still allowed to have one CAG jet though. I hope so at least, it would seem to me that CAG jets would be a source of pride and identity for the squadrons.

Nice pictures though, thanks for posting.

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The higher ups are really cracking down on the more traditional markings we like to see.

In the case of VFA-103, at first, they were told they could have dk grey tails on the line jets, but they'd have to give up one of the show birds. So, instead of 200 & 201 being hi vis, 201 got to be a line jet.

Then once they got back from cruise a couple weeks later, they were told to remove the dk grey tails.

Pretty silly if you ask me.. :D

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im tending to think that only 1 CAG bird and very toned down line birds will be the norm.

Certainly my fave squadron VFA-31 seem to only have 1 black tailed CAG (AJ-10) there is no red tailed 101 bird!

Really tho im waiting to see some nice weathered super hornets in a few years time so the heavy weathering ive done on tomcats can be applied.

also btw mentioning tomcats in a super hornet thread :D sorry i know!!!

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MAN! VFA-2 just aren't the same without their stripes! Now there just like... regular navy jets!! :D

Also, I was wondering, when a CAG jet get a new paint job, do they strip the old paint off, or just apply the new paint straight over the top?

Tom

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I can't totally tell in the picture(which are nice) but does that VFA-2 bird have an ACS rear pit ? The glint on the canopy is fudging it for me ...

If so, that might explain the markings ... ie: They haven't had a chance to put the squadron logo on the tail yet ...

Gregg

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103's "toned" down are some of better looking (IMO) markings. I still like the dark gray tail. Since my favorite squadron, VFA-41, was already "toned down" I guess this isn't much of a surprise to me.

I wonder if this thread will spiral out of control like the last low viz marking thread..................

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Yeah, looks like an ACS to me. In fact, I think the ACS is more obvious than telling what squadron the poor bird is attached to now!! *grumbles* Heck, they might as well remove every marking and make it a monotone, no stencilling or anything. :cheers:

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Eventually, they will all be painted exactly the same. The pilot will check one out of the jet pool, like a motor pool. It's a shame, really. You guys now have your digital cameras that can make anyone an awesome photographer, these cameras produce brillant colourful images except for the fact all the jets are now grey. :cheers:

Cheers,

Dave

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Although there is a general outcry of "foul" right now concerning the markings (especially as you have pointed out in the case of VFA-2) I know the Navy brass are kind of heavy handed at times concerning markings however, I think what you have photographed is actually a jet that hasn't received it's full markings yet.

The last time that I was at Lemoore, I photographed several VFA-2 jets that were in various states of "compliance". Unlike Air Force jets that go into a paint barn and come out looking like a new jet with new markings, Navy jets very rarely get their full set of markings in one go at the squadron level. It's usually as the schedule allows and your photograph proves this.

What the higher ups really didn't like was how well the markings stood out against the rest of the aircraft. That is part of why they ordered a change to the markings. The other part was having custom painted markings extending over composite areas.

I'm sure you will see the skull and some form of Langley chevron return to the tails (like they had in the past) they just need to make sure that the everything is in IAW.

Cheers

John

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Although there is a general outcry of "foul" right now concerning the markings (especially as you have pointed out in the case of VFA-2) I know the Navy brass are kind of heavy handed at times concerning markings however, I think what you have photographed is actually a jet that hasn't received it's full markings yet.

The last time that I was at Lemoore, I photographed several VFA-2 jets that were in various states of "compliance". Unlike Air Force jets that go into a paint barn and come out looking like a new jet with new markings, Navy jets very rarely get their full set of markings in one go at the squadron level. It's usually as the schedule allows and your photograph proves this.

What the higher ups really didn't like was how well the markings stood out against the rest of the aircraft. That is part of why they ordered a change to the markings. The other part was having custom painted markings extending over composite areas.

I'm sure you will see the skull and some form of Langley chevron return to the tails (like they had in the past) they just need to make sure that the everything is in IAW.

Cheers

John

Oh, it's not just markings. I'm increasingly of the opinion that people in senior leadership get pay bonuses, or more meaningless medals, or whatever, for any morale-suppression shceme they can come up with.

And extra bonus points if it squanders scarce dollars and manpower, such as repainting airplanes.

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Every since I first saw a Tomcat in these markings this I what I think is my favorite scheme. I like a lot of the others, not all mind you, but this is my next Tomcat build. SO what if its an "A" :D :o :P . VF-84, 114, 111, 33, 142 (New Scheme), 211. Are there any pix of VF-1 when they flew Phantoms?

Wolfpack101.jpg

TomcatTaxi.jpg

Edited by PhantomPhoenix
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Every since I first saw a Tomcat in these markings this I what I think is my favorite scheme. I like a lot of the others, not all mind you, but this is my next Tomcat build. SO what if its an "A" :D :explode::doh: . VF-84, 114, 111, 33, 142 (New Scheme), 211. Are there any pix of VF-1 when they flew Phantoms?

Wolfpack101.jpg

TomcatTaxi.jpg

Hi Phantom phoenix , VF-1 never flew the F-4 , they stood up as a New Tomcat squadron in October 1972 , just like VF-2 .

Cheers , Henk

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