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Captain Joe is a Bavarian pilot who is here to school us on one of the biggest questions that we have always had about airplanes: Why are the noses painted black?

If you’ve ever paid attention, many commercial airplanes have the very tips of the front painted black, and apparently, it’s not a decision based on aesthetics.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

We did not know that the reason would be this sensible, which was half of the fun of learning more about this. The “radome” is actually where the weather radar is stashed.

We had no idea that the explanation would be this simple. Kudos to Joe for making this one very easy for us. The black rubber cone is placed over this part of the plane so that there is no chance of abrasive debris crashing into the equipment. The rubber cover was not kept on the planes over the long haul, as they soon made the switch over to black paint.

Photo: Picryl.com/The U.S. National Archives

“Later, airlines stepped away from the rubber coating and then painted the noses with black paint. Back then, the fuselage was covered in lead-based paint to prevent corrosion but wasn’t allowed to be sprayed over the nose due to the metal compounds of that paint. So yet again cheaper black paint was applied without interfering or limiting the Radar’s performance,” says Joe in the video below.

As times have changed, more airlines have decided that they are going to opt away from the black paint. Now, more and more companies have decided that they are going to choose color schemes that are more in line with their current logos. This definitely adds to the aesthetic appeal, that is for sure. Joe’s explanations make things even more funny.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

“Eventually, that color range grew more and more, and airlines painted their planes in their color of choice to match the livery!” he proclaims. The color range had to grow to keep up with the times and now? We hardly even notice that these noses are still painted. It’s gotten to the point where it all blends together for us but this is exactly what the airlines wanted.

Captain Joe’s YouTube channel is always teaching us new things that we did not know about airplanes. Anyone who has ever wanted to learn more about the ins and outs of these aircraft would do well to subscribe to his channel. You simply never know what new things you might learn when you take the time to watch. Check out his video below:

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