V Australia takes a flutter each way on the Aussie flag
A report in The Herald Sun says that just when you thought the mystery over flags on planes was sorted, along comes some more intrigue.
It appears that a sharp-eyed Herald Sun reader John Sweet spotted a wandering star in V Australia’s depiction of the Southern Cross, with Virgin Blue’s newest international offshoot appearing to have painted the Southern Cross on the plane’s tail in reverse.
Virgin Blue quickly offered a humourous apology and some new artwork showing the stars aligned correctly, but now self-confessed aviation nut Bill Mapletoft reports that it is not that simple.
As he explained it, some airlines depict the flag in a two dimensional version and others in three dimensions. That means on a three dimensional version the Australian flag would appear to be backwards on the right hand side of the aircraft, with the Union Jack in the top right corner.
And one of the airlines that adopts the 3D version is none other than Qantas, which displays the flag as it would be seen if the plane was transparent.
Virgin Blue has a bit of a bet each way, with the flag near the rear of the plane a 2D version but the screaming virgin at the front carries a fluttering reversed flag on the right of the plane.
Even the lost airline Ansett used to reverse its stylised Southern Cross on the tail in at least one version of its livery.
Another Herald Sun reader, David Frankland, took up the reversed flag issue with Qantas, which in its reply claimed the flag “must be painted the way in which it would be seen if it was on a flag pole”.
David wasn’t happy with that explanation and quoted flag protocol to back his 2D version, which states that: “A flag displayed against a surface whether horizontally or vertically; the top left quarter (Union Jack) should be placed uppermost on the observer’s left, as viewed from the front.”
Which, when you think about it, could support both the 3D and 2D camps, depending on your version of “front”.
It’s all very confusing, but to see how some world airlines cope with the problem, the following link can while away a few hours: www.airliners.net
Report by The Mole
John Alwyn-Jones
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