The specifications of the colours used in the Norfolk Airlines livery are unknown. Photographs show considerable variations, particularly in the shade of yellow. Beech 200 VH-IBC was delivered from the factory with a bright shade of yellow whereas VH-IBD was delivered in a darker shade that was more bronze. Over the fleet there were variations depending on where and by whom the aeroplane was painted.

The writer has researched the colours for the purpose of building a model of Dash 8 VH-NID pictured above.

It seems logical to assume that the shade of green is that of the Norfolk Island flag. This being the case, the Norfolk Island Flag and Public Seal Act 1979 defines the green colour on the flag as: Pantone® Matching System (PMS): 356 C. If one is working in print or design software, the following are suggested equivalents:

Pantone 356 C Approx.

CMYK: 100, 0, 57, 53 (typical conversion for printing)

RGB: 0, 121, 52 (typical conversion in web designing)

HEX: #007934 (common web/print conversion)

The shade of yellow is not so easily estimated.

Unlike the Norfolk Island flag green, the Norfolk Island Airlines logo colours were never legislated or published as Pantone standards (at least none survive in public archives). Airlines of that era (1970s–1990s, especially small regional operators) almost never specified exotic yellows but used stock commercial signwriting colours and chose hues that reproduced cleanly in Vinyl, Screen printing and/or aircraft paint. So we’re dealing with a commercial “signal yellow”, not a custom mix. From surviving photos and repaints, the yellow circle in the "bird" logo and the striping is: Strong, warm yellow, slightly orange-biased, not lemon, not pale and is high contrast against the deep green bird and green striping. Based on airline logos of the same era (Ansett regionals, East-West, Bush Pilots Airways, Air Niugini) the best candidate is: Pantone 123 C (Warm, vivid yellow, providing excellent contrast with dark greens common in aviation branding). The digital details for Pantone 123 are:

CMYK: 0 / 22 / 91 / 0

RGB: 255 / 199 / 44

HEX: #FFC72C

It is hoped that this information will be helpful to modellers of Norfolk Airlines aircraft.

Paul Gerber

March 2026