Over the years, we’ve gone over a lot of reasons why certain things on planes are the way they are. These are some of them:
- Why some planes’ emergency exit doors have red tape over the windows
- Why they dim the lights (or not) for takeoff and landing
- Why plane windows have those little holes in them
- Why seats must be upright during takeoff and landing
As I was perusing the internets, I noticed something interesting. Planes from years ago – typically the latter half of the 20th century – had a livery that included the painting the nose cone either entirely or at least partially black.
The nose cone (or “Radome”) is typically where the plane’s weather radar and other important antennas are located (antennas set aside, “Radome” is a good word. A dome over the radar). Decades ago, this equipment was fussy and susceptible to problems if it was subjected to rain and dust (both of which could be abundant at the very front of a plane). To protect the sensitive equipment, the Radome, which was initially metal and then, over the years, fiberglass, was covered with a black adhesive rubber material.
Later, airlines stepped away from the rubber coating and started painting the noses with black paint. But over the years, technology improved. The weather radar is still in the nose cone and is still persnickety, but modern-day Radomes are made of clear Polyurethane self-adhesive film, instead of rubber. So, they eventually were able to become any color the airlines wanted.
Other reasons for the black nose
If you’ve ever watched football, you’ve seen players mark under their eyes with “eye black” to decrease glare.
With fewer airlines painting the nose cone black, they sometimes paint the area just below the cockpit windows black; it provides the same protection against glare.
Feature Photo: Bill Abbott / Wikimedia / CC BY-SA 2.0 DEED
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