Author Topic: Frank Luke's Spad XIII "26"metal panel? Really?  (Read 1053 times)

Offline iwik

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Frank Luke's Spad XIII "26"metal panel? Really?
« on: December 17, 2015, 04:50:37 PM »
Hi y'all!
All profiles show Luke's "26" Spad XIII with a front engine panel of a different color. It is always represented as metallic in color.
This is most likely a replacement panel considering the hail of ground fire he received during his balloon sprees.
So my question is: why is it not painted? Spads left the factory painted. Either in camouflaged or yellow (for early Spad XIII) color.
Couldn't that panel be in plain yellow rather than alu? That sounds more logical to me.
What do you think?
Ciao
Iwik

Offline iwik

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Re: Frank Luke's Spad XIII "26"metal panel? Really?
« Reply #1 on: December 18, 2015, 12:02:22 AM »
Yes, the replacement part most likely comes from another airframe, but why would it be metal rather than painted yellow or camouflaged, that's the question. It does look like the same color as the inside panel, which in turn looks darn like the landing gear struts and underside color (if yellow and not grey, or would B&W photo show any real difference anyway?).