Aircraft Type Spotting
 

Need some help.

Until recently, I thought my plane identification techniques were pretty good. Now that the A319 and A320 have become a mainstay of United, I think I am back to square 1 in identifiying different types of planes.

Here's what I know so far (or think is correct):

717 - never seen
727 - third engine
737 -
747 - duh, upper deck & 4 engines
757 - long and narrow
767 -
777 - it's big
A319 -
A320 -
MD-80 - engines in back
MD-11 - three engines

Can people help fill in the blanks (and even elaborate on my comments). I'm trying to develop a mental cheat-sheet so that when I see a plane, I will know what it is.

Thanks.

A319-A321 have tiny winglets.
A319 - one emergency exit over the wing.
A320 - two emergency exits over the wing.
A321 - four doors - no emergency exit over the wing.
B737 - dont have the visual differences between them. The -800 and -400 have 2 emergency exits. B737s can be easily spotted by the engine shape.
MD-11 - 3 engines and winglets.
DC-10 - 3 engines without winglets.
B757-200 - 5 doors.
B757-300 - 6 doors.
B777 - the engine that a 7 foot person can stand inside!

Airliners.net is a good place to go for photos of various aircraft types and airline livery.

Just to add:
737-200 - old cigar-shaped turbojet engines
737-300+ - CFM-56 family turbofan engines
747-200 - short upper deck with 3 windows
747-300 - extended upper deck
747-400 - 6 ft winglets
777-200+ - three-axle main landing gear

[This message has been edited by Indurain (edited 01-02-2001).]

767 - no middle door between 1st and wing (all UA fleet I have seen)

777 - Engine cover so big a 737 can fit inside

727 - mechanics working on it.

737 - no-one boarding movies

DC-10 - looks like a big 727
L1011 - looks like a DC-10 with the tail melted.

EMB-120 Exit row right side behind wing, 9B/C best seats in the house

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f

767 as described above, plus:

767-200 - one emergency exit over the wing.
767-300 - two emergency exits over the wing.

And the yet to arrive 777-LR's will have a levered landing gear, on take off giving it the appearance of "standing on its hind feet."

neo_781:

Since you and I are both in Chicago, if you would ever like to go out to ORD on a weekend and do some plane spotting, drop me an email (address in my profile). I would enjoy teaching you more about the various aircraft and pointing out the differences so that you can readily distinguish the types.

This looks like a good deep end to jump into:

747-400: Winglets above the wing only
A320-series: Winglets above & below wing
(not that you'd ever confuse one with the other http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif)

727: 3 engines in back, #2 engine (in tail) offset air intake
L-1011: engine in tail with offset intake, other 2 engines under wings
DC-10/MD-11: Only aircraft with straight-thru tail engines

DC-9: 2 engines only in back (also BAC-111, F-28, others)
MD-80&90 series: Like DC-9, tail ends in tab, instead of point
B-717: originally part of MD-90 series (MD-98??)

707: narrow tube, 4 engines under wings
DC-8: like above, with 2 vents in nose visible when viewed head-on
B-52: 8 engines (in pairs) under wings

BAE-146: 4 engines under high wing (short & stubby)

The various new 737's are tough ... don't ask me http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

The various iterations of the DC-9 are easy once you get the hang of it.

DC-9 - it's small
MD-80 - looks like a DC-9, but is noticeably larger
MD-90 - looks like an MD-80, but its engines are noticeably larger
717 - looks like a DC-9 (noticeably smaller), and it's engines are noticeably larger.

The old generation 737-100 and -200 series have the long "cigar-tube" engines that run under the wings. The newer generation 737s can be distinguished from similar looking Airbus models by looking at the base of the tail. It has a kind of an extra triangular part that joins the fuselage and leading edge of the tail. Also, next gen 737s have engine nacelles that look somewhat "flattened" on the bottom, but you have to see this from the front.

FewMiles..

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Unofficial Guide to AAdvantage: http://home.webflyer.com/fewmiles/AA/

Not all 767-300s have 2 overwing exits on each side. Some have 2 normal doors on each side forward of the wing and 2 aft.

767-400 has raked wing tip
747-100/200 short upper deck with 3 windows on each side
747-SP short 747
747-300 stretched upper deck but no winglets
747-400 same as -300 but with winglets
777-300 LONG - longer than a 747
777s all have a "flat" tail that looks like the end of a flat-head screwdriver and not a conincal end

A-300/310/330 - fuselage is less symetrically conical at the rear end than a 767.


717 (MD-95) - what appear to be big short engines similar to a CFM56 on a 737

DC-10 - straight above-fuselage tail-mounted engine
MD-11 - same as above but longer and with winglets on main wing

Beware of a Trident as it can look like a 727, not that you'll likely see any Tridents.

About the 747-400s...

Some 747-400s don't have the winglets. Winglets improve fuel efficiency by reducing air turbulence around the edge of the wing, so they go further than models without the winglets. But winglets, though small they are (actually, they're taller than you might expect), they are still an "extra" compared to a wing without it, so it costs money.

ANA operates a special type of 747 called 747-400D where the "D" stands for "Domestic". Used for... domestic http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/tongue.gif routes. It's a typical "sardine can" configuration seating more than 400 http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/eek.gif people. It does not have the "winglets" because the cost of the winglets don't justify the savings from lower fuel consumption. The routes it serves are hardly ever more than 500 miles. (in fact, verging on never)

I find the easiest way to tell a -80 and a -90 apart is to look at the top of the tail fin. Seeing it from the side, the -80 is curved while the -90 is straight and horizontal. Same thing seeing it from the rear or front, the -80 is curved and the -90 is flat. Once you get the hang of it, you can tell them apart from across the airfield (which is not always possible by just looking at the engine size).

While you are looking at the tail fins, the F-100 is even more curved than the MD-80 so that could give you a clue to recognize the F-100 as well.

I would say the 717 is a miniature version of the -90, not the DC-9.

/Pete

[This message has been edited by L-1011 (edited 01-03-2001).]

Does anyone know the number of the Ilyushin aircraft Aeroflot flies that is a look-alike for a 727? (IL-62???)

It is the Tupolev 154:
http://www.bird.ch/Russians/TU154/TU154P01.html
http://www.aeroflot.org/