On Thursday, October 30, 2003, at 11:44 AM, lafrance@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote: > URL (link) to this photo: http://www.airliners.net/open.file/448634/L/ > > Whats up with the half white tail on this ac? Was it originaly going > to someone else? I do know that rudders are always painted separately from the rest of the bird, because they have to be painted very carefully for precise balance issues. If you look at an airliner assembly line you will often see planes that are completely unpainted *except* for the rudder. So my guess is that it's a replacement part, which had already been painted as a sub-assembly for another airline and then was diverted to NW. It will then need to wait to go to a special shop to be repainted, which would take the a/c out of service, unless it is replaced by a new one that is painted for NW, which NW obviously wants (so that their plane does not look like a junkyard queen). -- Michael C. Berch mcb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx