December 1-22, 2004
Savannah, Georgia

Painting of the GV at the Savannah Air Center (SAC) facility in Savannah, Georgia. Photos are courtesy of Mike Greer of the Savannah Air Center.

Click on the thumbnail images to see a larger version (larger image size in KB listed with each thumbnail).

File Type/Size   Description JPG, 86KB Savannah Air Center personnel sanding portions of the GV fuselage in preparation for the application of the primer coats. (December 1, 2004) JPG, 73KB View of the sanded forward left-hand fuselage. (December 1, 2004) JPG, 85KB SAC personnel applying etch to the GV. Etch is sprayed onto the aircraft surface and agitated by hand in order to clean the aluminum and to open the pores of the surface to allow the alodine to better adhere and provide a stronger corrosion preventative bond. (December 2, 2004) JPG, 65KB The application of alodine to the GV surfaces by SAC personnel. Alodine provides a layer of added corrosion protection and promotes adhesion of the primer coats to follow. (December 2, 2004) JPG, 63KB HIAPER with its coating of green chromated corrosion preventive primer. (December 3, 2004) JPG, 56KB SAC personnel spraying hi build (or sanding surfacer primer) onto HIAPER. Hi build is applied for cosmetic purposes and is used to hide small surface imperfections and to give the final top paint coat more "definition" and depth. (December 3, 2004) JPG, 59KB View from above of the GV with the hi build coat applied. (December 3, 2004) JPG, 67KB SAC personnel sanding the hi build primer coat on HIAPER. (December 2-6, 2004) JPG, 79KB Final placement of the NSF and NCAR logo templates on the GV fuselage. (December 7, 2004) JPG, 51KB SAC personnel masking the GV surface immediately prior to the start of aircraft painting. (December 8, 2004) JPG, 51KB SAC personnel applying the first coat of white paint to the right-hand side of HIAPER. (December 8, 2004) JPG, 42KB The first coat of paint on the upper surface of the GV's right wing. (December 9, 2004) JPG, 51KB SAC personnel applying the second coat of paint to the lower surface of the GV's right wing. (December 9, 2004) JPG, 46KB The second coating of paint being applied to HIAPER's tail. (December 9, 2004) JPG, 45KB The belly of the GV being prepared (masked) for further painting. (December 19, 2004) JPG, 59KB SAC personnel working on masking the left-hand side of HIAPER prior to painting of the lower aft fuselage and engines. (December 19, 2004) JPG, 46KB The application of blue paint to the aft right-hand side of the GV fuselage. (December 19, 2004) JPG, 56KB The second coat of blue paint applied to the aft right-hand side of HIAPER. (December 19, 2004) JPG, 44KB A close up view of HIAPER's blue paint, showing the depth of the color. A reverse image of Mike Greer, SAC Manager of Paint Operations, is visible in the center of the photo. (December 20, 2004) JPG, 54KB A second view of the blue paint on the aft fuselage and engine on HIAPER's left-hand side. (December 20, 2004) JPG, 50KB The left-hand side of the fully painted HIAPER. (December 22, 2004) JPG, 51KB The right-hand side of the painted GV, with good views of the NCAR and NSF logos. (December 22, 2004) JPG, 56KB The left-hand side of HIAPER, as viewed from aft. The depth of the blue paint is particularly noticeable in this photo. (December 22, 2004) JPG, 52KB The painted left-hand side of the GV nose section, with a close-up of the NSF logo. (December 22, 2004) JPG, 49KB A close-up of the NCAR logo on the left-hand side of the aircraft. (December 22, 2004) JPG, 33KB A close-up of the NSF logo on the right-hand side of the aircraft. (December 22, 2004) JPG, 44KB The painted HIAPER emerging from the SAC paint hangar. (December 22, 2004) JPG, 67KB HIAPER sitting out in the Savannah sunshine. (December 22, 2004)