Recent Shots of VC10 ZA150 (Dunsfold)

[Archer]

I'm sure this has been asked/answered before, but why before retirement did all the VC-10s appear to come out of maintenance with the fuselage around the cockpit area a lighter shade of grey than the rest of the plane?

It's actually not just the cockpit but also a strip along the fuselage spine. The grey topcoat is the same across the entire fuselage but the layer underneath is white for the cockpit and spine area and black for the rest of the fuselage. This white undercoat is what causes the area to be lighter than the rest. It lowers the temperature inside by some 5 degrees Celsius.

[TobyV]

Wow! Thanks for the answer. Begs the question now whether on airliners, those who adopt something other than "Eurowhite" are keeping their pax warmer or expending more energy on air conditioning (or less on heating)?