Alan Kong wrote:
> 
> On Thu, 29 Jun 2000 13:48:18 -0800 "Lt. Kettch" <AKK### [at] aolcom>
> wrote:
> 
> >Yes, the Air Force washes its planes. Why, I'm not sure, maybe to increase its life
> >span.
> 
>   I think that's the reason. Keeping the surface clean probably removes
> contaminants that will ruin the finish coating on the metal, which in
> turn protects the bare metal from corrosion in the harsh environment of
> flight.

They keep it clean to reduce drag which improves flight effeciency and
fuel comsumption. On some of the jets that can exceed mach 2 or better
even finger prints can cause enough drag to be noticable.

-- 
Ken Tyler - 1400+ POV-Ray, Graphics, 3D Rendering, and Raytracing Links:
http://home.pacbell.net/tylereng/index.html http://www.povray.org/links/

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