SAFETY IN COLOURS

Waipa Post, Volume 41, Issue 3186, 9 August 1930, Page 6

SAFETY IN COLOURS

AEROPLANE PROPELLERS. Only a few weeks ago a member of the Bellavilland works at Mascot, New South Wales, was seriously injured by walking into a whirling propeller of an aeroplane. It is understood that this is due to the fact that it is very difficult to see the blades of a propeller when they are spinning at a high velocity. The Vacuum Oil Company has carried out interesting colour experiments with the blades of the company's aeroplane Plume. It is a remarkable fact that any colour on the blade of a propeller becomes invisible when the blade spins; but when red, orange, and blue are applied in bars horizontally in the order named (with orange in the middle) the blades have striking visibility regardless of how fast the propeller spins. Red, orange, and blue bars 2i inches wide have just been painted on the tips of the propeller of the Plume, and this colour combination stands out in a striking manner. If this colour scheme is adopted generally in painting the propeller blades of aeroplanes the danger of accidents, especially at country aerodromes, will be greatly reduced.