Weathering Aircraft...

Hi all,

I've been doing research and finding photos of the F-4 Phantoms from VMFA-333 that flew during their 1972-73 cruise on the U.S.S. America. One of the things that I noticed was that the planes are pretty darned clean! So clean that the panel lines are nearly invisible at normal viewing distances. In contrast, an F-14 I saw at the Frederick, MD air show a few years ago was pretty dirty.

So what gives? I suspect two answers, but I'd like to read what others have to post.

1) The tactical paint scheme is harder to take care of than the hi-viz schemes of the '70s and '80s. I think it is flatter and more likely to pick up dirt.

2) Budget cuts starting in the early '90s (right after Desert Storm) meant that less time was spent cleaning the planes.

What do you guys and gals think?

Regards,