AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2020 - 33

Of the hundreds of combinations AOPA reviewed,
the one that was eventually chosen was the very first
that Barnett had proposed-with a few tweaks.
The multicolor N number was an addition. The N
number, 260MG, is a double entendre. The airplane's
got a powerful 260-horsepower engine, and when
pilots learn that, a common reaction is blurting out,
"Oh, my [goodness]!"
The joke contained in the N number was subtle
when the numbers and letters were simply black vinyl
blocks. Barnett himself wasn't aware of the meaning
until Horst suggested setting the 0MG apart by making
them different colors. Barnett then took that idea even
further by making the 26 appear in shadows.
There was a great deal of internal discussion about
whether that would satisfy the FAA N number visibility requirements, but it's been done many times in the
past (including on previous AOPA Sweepstakes aircraft) and Barnett and Horst were positive it would
meet the "500-foot rule." An airplane's N number
should be visible and identifiable from a distance of
500 feet (see "FAA Guidance," this page).
Anyway, it's painted on now, so it won't be easily
altered.
UNRECOGNIZABLE

Horst and his crew at Lancaster Aero went far above and
beyond simply painting the airplane. They repaired or
replaced damaged fiberglass around the windshield and
window frames, added fresh air scoops for the overhead
ventilation system, complied with a Van's Aircraft Service
Bulletin that involved adding a safety latch to each of the
doors, and resealed the door frames. Now the doors close
as tight as a bank vault, and they're more streamlined, too.
The painting itself went quickly. Erick Rosado
was dressed like an astronaut with a full chemical

protection suit as he applied
white primer, then several
layers of Axalta. Red was
the first color, and Rosado
covered the aircraft twice
using a total of 2.5 gallons of
the $900-per-gallon paint.
(Other colors were a relative
bargain at $300 a gallon.)
"It's amazing how rich
the color is, even after just
one coat," said Rosado, who
estimates he's painted about
200 aircraft during five
years at Lancaster Aero.
L a t e r, h e a p p l i e d
black, gold, and two layers of clearcoat to give the
final product a glistening
appearance.
Nine weeks after the Sweeps RV-10 had arrived
at Lancaster Aero in Smoketown, Pennsylvania
(S37), it was ready for the short, 60-nautical-miles
flight home. The kit airplane that had been built in
Canada and first flew in 2007 was unrecognizable
from the fading, threadbare, yellow billboard that
had been dropped off on December 7, 2019.
"The quality of the paint now matches the quality of the avionics and interior that had already
been upgraded," said Horst, a pilot, AOPA member, and mechanic with inspection authorization.
"People who saw this airplane in 2019 aren't going
to believe it's the same aircraft, so good luck convincing them."
EMAIL dave.hirschman@aopa.org

FAA guidance: N number legibility
The N number is required to be legible and written in capital
Roman style letters without any ornamentation. You may use
shading or a border only if it makes the number more legible.
Use the following guidelines: (1) Make sure the color contrasts
sufficiently with the color of the fuselage to make it easy to
read. Be especially careful when the background is highly decorated, as in checkering. Consider applying the requirements
of FAR 23.811(c)(7)(ii) or 25.811(f)(2), Emergency exit marking,
as a test of whether the color of the N-number contrasts sufficiently with the background. (2) Check the reflectance of
external markings. Using electro-optical instruments or photometer card sets is an acceptable means of verifying
reflectance, but these are not required to establish reflectance.

The FAA considers a 12-inch number legible if you can read it
from 500 feet away, in a horizontal line, and perpendicular to
the side of the aircraft during daylight hours, without using
an optical aid such as binoculars. (3) If you question whether
an N number is legible, either because of color or reflectance,
check with your local FAA inspector.

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AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2020

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