Identify the Model of a Commercial Aircraft

Commercial aircraft are airplanes that are flown by airlines. Have you ever been driving down the highway or sitting in a park and seen an aircraft fly low overhead and wondered, is that a commercial aircraft? By using this article you will be able to identify whether an aircraft is commercial or not.. Whether you decide to be an aircraft spotter or are just looking for something to do while you wait for your flight, this article is a great resource. So in this guide, you'll learn how to differentiate a non-commercial aircraft with a commercial one.

Steps

  1. Look to see if there's a livery with an airline on it. All commercial aircraft is owned by an airline, which means that you'll be able to spot at least something that says "___ Airlines" or anything of the sort.
    • Most private jets don't have really complex liveries.
  2. Look at the size of the aircraft. Most commercial aircraft are long and large. Take a look at the size of the airplane.
    • A Cessna or other private jets can only fit around 10 people at the most. This means that the aircraft is small. However, small commercial aircraft can fit at least a good amount of people, and 20 at the very least. The size is a good identification.
  3. Look for the basic identifying portions of the airplane. Since a good portion of the times you get a good look at aircraft, they are flying overhead, you may only have a few moments to lock vital information about the aircraft into your brain.[1]
  4. Check the type of engines All commercial aircraft have jet engines, or non-propellers. Propellers are blades that are visible. Jet engines are large and loud.[2]
  5. Look for the number and position of the engines. All commercial aircraft, small or big, have at least 2 engines. If they only have one engine, it's not a commercial aircraft.[3]
  6. Look to see the position of the engines. The engine position is important. All commercial aircraft have their engine mounted as the following:
    • Wing mounted
    • Fuselage mounted - The engines are attached to the fuselage at the back of the plane.
    • Combination - Some aircraft such as the DC-10 and L-1011 have a combination. They have two-wing mounted engines and one tail-mounted.
  7. Check the wings. Look at the position of the wings. The wings onboard commercial aircraft are considerably large; unlike cessnas and small private jets, they provide more lift.[4]
  8. Check the tailplane. The tailplane is the horizontal piece that sticks out of the tail. All commercial (and all airplanes) have tails. Commercial aircraft's tails are larger and a lot more sturdy than regular aircraft.
    • Look to see if there is an airline's logo on the tail. If there is, it's definitely a commercial aircraft. This means that it's not a blank, white tail.
  9. Find the registration. The registration can be found on the back of the aircraft towards the end of the fuselage. Once you have recorded the number, you can research the registration on a flight research website such as FlightAware or flightradar24. The websites will display the flight information and aircraft model.
  10. Interpret based on location. Your location is a good way to see if an aircraft is commercial.
    • If you're at an airport, it's almost 100% that the airplane in front of you will be a commercial aircraft. This means that you'll probably not spot a tiny Cessnas in a large airport.
    • If you're near rural areas, you'll probably see Cessnas more. They're small planes that fly lower and don't appear in airports.
    • Interpret based on the height and movement of the airplane. This is a good strategy, as commercial and private jets fly and move differently.
    • Commercial aircraft:
      • See if the plane is flying steadily, and it's sink rate or climb rate is steady. This just means that if you spot a plane that is descending, it won't be doing sudden dives or climbs.
      • The airplane should not have really fast turns or weird movements, So, if you see an aircraft that is doing really weird turns and dives, it's probably not commercial.
    • Non-commercial aircraft
      • See if the plane is gliding at a low altitude. This means, that the plane isn't really high.
      • Spot the movement of the airplane. Small aircraft aren't all as steady as large jets. This means that you might occasionally see the plane do turns or dives.
  11. Listen to the sound of the aircraft. Commercial jets make louder sounds then private jets.
    • Listen if you hear a large and not "fixed" sound in the air. You should here a considerably large sound. If it is, it's probably commercial.
    • Listen if you hear small propeller turning sounds, or you might not even hear anything. If you only hear small churns, it's definitely not a commercial aircraft.

Tips

  • Most books that you purchase that are specifically for spotting aircraft will have a system for identifying them. Usually this consists of four parts: wing position, number/position of engines, types of engines and tailplane position.
  • Airliners.net (http://www.airliners.net) has a photo database that can help and an aircraft recognition quiz to help test your skills.
  • It really helps to take a photograph of the aircraft using your camera or phone. This gives you much longer to check out the identifying features, as well as allowing you to zoom up close to see things your eyes might miss.
  • One thing you can do to quickly find out what aircraft you are spotting is to try and take a photo of the aircraft's registration number, which is usually at the back of the aircraft, and you can just type it up into Google or a Flight Tracking Website and you can get a wealth of information about that aircraft including: Model, Make, Manufacturer, Airline, Age, Speed, Heading, Current Flight and much more.

Warnings

  • After 9/11, some airport security personnel may not be too keen on having people near the airport perimeter taking photo; follow given instructions pertaining to each airport. Some places are more friendly towards aircraft spotters than others.
  • This is not always a family activity, particularly in the U.S. Aviation is really something that interests that those involved in it, so don't drag along your, son, daughter, spouse, dog or goldfish to go spotting with you unless they have a passion for aviation like you do.
  • As said in the first warning, you have to be careful with plane-spotting activities, so don't get too close to the airport, and you must act with caution, don't try being stupid by going over the perimeter fence, as there is a very fine line between plane-spotting and committing a criminal offence. If a member of airport staff asks you what you are doing, calmly and reasonably explain to them, your actions, as they aren't fun-spoilers, they just want to look out for your safety.

Related Articles

References

  1. ↑ https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/plane-spotting-beginners-guide/index.html
  2. ↑ https://www.airlinerspotter.com/how-to-identify-commercial-airliners.htm
  3. ↑ https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/plane-spotting-beginners-guide/index.html
  4. ↑ https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/107087280/plane-spotting-how-to-tell-what-sort-of-plane-youre-flying-on
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