Atlas Air Paint Issues

[Tony G]

Here are a couple of photos i have taken recently of Atlas Air, one taken this morning. As you can see the paint work towards the rear of the aircraft is quite bad. I thinking they should change contractors:rolleyes:

http://i486.photobucket.com/albums/rr222/DAplane/IMG_3848.jpg
N412MC

http://i486.photobucket.com/albums/rr222/DAplane/IMG_3553.jpg
N492MC

[Kieran Wells]

hear hear tony!
I have N492MC in Sydney on 2/4 and the paintwork still wasn't that great...hopefully the paintwork doesn't reflect the companys reputation..

[Scott Lindsell]

They have always been pretty bad but those shots are some of the worst I've seen.
Do Atlas still fly to SYD regularly???
S.

[Philip Argy]

Is the paintwork bad enough to adversely impact laminar airflow and therefore increase drag/fuel burn? It looks like it to me but I'd be interested in an expert's opinion.

[Stefan Drury]

Here's the other side from a few months back:

http://www.jetphotos.net/viewphoto.php?id=6233080

[Andrew McLaughlin]

And again...look at the leading edge of the fin! :eek:

http://www.jetphotos.net/viewphoto.php?id=6297917

[Stefan Drury]

Poor girl, in need of an 'Extreme Makeover'. Nice photo BTW Andrew.

[Philip Argy]

I wonder what costs more - the extra fuel burned from allowing turbulent air flow to burnish the paint off or a conventional "sanding back" before a re-paint?

[Sarah C]

And again...look at the leading edge of the fin! :eek:

http://www.jetphotos.net/viewphoto.php?id=6297917

That is the worst photo I have seen of the Atlas paint job (or lack of it).

[Kieran Wells]

Do Atlas still fly to SYD regularly???
S.

Scott, they do a lot of freight work for Qantas. I know they normally do SYD-BKK-Chicago, but wouldn't surprise me if they did other routes for them.

[Tony G]

Scott, they do a lot of freight work for Qantas. I know they normally do SYD-BKK-Chicago, but wouldn't surprise me if they did other routes for them.

Yep it seems like they do. This is a trimmed shot of my photo and you can read the decals. Is there a market for Qantas to have its own cargo aircraft?

http://i486.photobucket.com/albums/rr222/DAplane/trimedAA.jpg

[Brenden S]

The reason why the paint has come off is due to the surface not being treated and cleaned properly. The paint hasn't adhered to the airframe and thus why it has come off. Basically to fix the problem they need to strip and repaint the aircraft again. That is what happens when you pay for a "Cheap" paint job.

[Seth Jaworski]

N409MC also had paint issues, but not as bad as N412MC.
http://jetphotos.net/viewphoto.php?id=6298019&nseq=24

I shot her just a few weeks ago and she's now wearing a fresh coat of paint (will find and attach a pic later).

[Scott Lindsell]

Scott, they do a lot of freight work for Qantas. I know they normally do SYD-BKK-Chicago, but wouldn't surprise me if they did other routes for them.


Ah thanks Kieran. :)

Andrew, great shot, a keeper!!

[Brian Wilkes]

I wonder what costs more - the extra fuel burned from allowing turbulent air flow to burnish the paint off or a conventional "sanding back" before a re-paint?

Atlas is not paying for the fuel, Qantas is, so it's a QF issue!

[Karl M]

Is there a market for Qantas to have its own cargo aircraft?



There was talk last year, but now with this fuel & world economic situation, I dont think we will see it for a while.

[Ryan Hothersall]

I saw one of the Atlas aircraft in Sydney a couple of months ago with the bad paint job.

However, N418MC seems to have intact paintwork.
http://myaviation.net/?pid=01371486

I would have thought with aircraft looking shabby with peeling paint would make people think I am not using that company.

[Kieran Wells]

I saw one of the Atlas aircraft in Sydney a couple of months ago with the bad paint job.

However, N418MC seems to have intact paintwork.

I would have thought with aircraft looking shabby with peeling paint would make people think I am not using that company.

N404MC was in today, and looks like it may have been painted recently...nice and fresh!!