Come work at LHR for a bit. I couldn't have told you the difference between a Boeing 737 and Airbus A320, for example, when i first started here, but now i would say i'm pretty good at identifying any type of aircraft that's regular around here. In a particularly geeky moment, waiting by the runway for an arrival, our engineer told me how to spot the Airbus and Boeing planes on approach from the wingtip strobes.