Commercial Aircraft Identification

To begin, let's cover some terminology. Knowing proper part names helps build your flight cred - you're not getting a complimentary meal coupon by calling the engines "spinny blow things." More to the point, these terms are necessary to point out features used for type identification.

We refer you to the labeled aircraft silhouettes above.

The stuff that the plane lands on is properly called "gear" and it comes in two varieties: main gear and nose gear. Nose gear is the one located at the front of the aircraft. The main gear is situated around midpoint. You need at least two of them (one on either side) so that the plane doesn't fall over. Some larger aircraft have additional main gear for improved weight distribution (the 747 has four, for example). The part of the gear that comprises the tires and wheels is properly called the undercarriage.

Also up front is the windscreen or what might colloquially be called a windshield. The windscreen is made up of individual window panels, the number and shape of which is handy for distinguishing between Boeing, Airbus, and the smaller regional jet types. More on windscreens later.

You know what wings are, and you probably also know that the little vertical additions on the end of the wings are called winglets (yeah, yeah: technically they're called "wingtip devices"). These reduce drag and in so doing reduce fuel consumption. As such, you might guess all aircraft would have winglets. Not so. Winglets are a relatively recent development (within the last decade or two) which meant retrofitting aircraft already in service. It doesn't make economic sense to add winglets to an aircraft - or an aircraft type - that is nearing the end of its service life. As such, the presence/absence of winglets can assist identification. For example, MD-80s don't have winglets, we are told, because these aircraft are nearing retirement.

Additionally, the shape of the winglet can assist in identification. You will often see a two-part winglet on Airbus types that extend both above and below the wing (called a wingtip fence). On Boeing aircraft, the devices are typically one-piece and extend only above the wing.

Bolted either underneath the wings and/or on the tail are the engines. Engine is a perfectly-acceptable term, but there is one case where we will need to refer specifically to the engine housing - i.e., the outside covering of the engine - which is properly called the nacelle. Specifically, that special case is the Boeing 737, because many 737 models have odd-shaped engine nacelles. More later.

Incidentally, there are a number of different aircraft engine manufacturers - General Electric, Pratt & Whitney, and Rolls-Royce, just to name the big three. Their engines look different from one another, and serious aircraft nerdz can identify them on sight. However, except in one or two cases, engine type is not a good indicator of aircraft type for the simple reason that engines are interchangeable, at least to some extent.

Finally, at the tail of the aircraft, you find the tail of the aircraft (properly called the empennage). Here you will find the horizontal and vertical stabilizers. The shape of these is one of your primary identification tools. More soon.

Devotees of the Gestalt theory of psychology will posit that aircraft identification, like any complex visual task, is internalized as a parallel matching algorithm. In lay terms, pros just look at the thing, shrug, and say something like: it's a 767. Whattayawantfromme?

But if you're just getting started, it's helpful to have a roadmap with points of interest that guide you to your destination. To this end, we have grouped the types we will consider into about a half-dozen categories and applied a flowchart to the whole mess (see above). A quick summary of the identification process goes as follows: (1) Does it have propellers? (2) If not, is it a T-tail? If not, does it have (3) four, (4) three, or (5) two engines? Finally, If it has two engines is it an (5a) Embraer, (5b) Boeing, or (5c) Airbus?

We'll visit each of these steps in the sections below and fill-in some details. The major divisions like "propeller vs jet" are pretty obvious, but eventually the types get harder to tell apart. For these, we'll point out the most obvious features we know that help nail down the type, rather than just admonishing you to gawk and memorize the shape like you're some kind of secret agent. Although, alas, we'll admit up-front that we sort of throw up our hands when it comes to the baby Airbuses. (Why would a company make so many different types that look exactly alike?)

Follow along on our identification flowchart above (please see Acknowledgements for aircraft image credits). Print it out and take on vacation. Consult while en route or on the beach!

Just like there was a time when all ice cream was vanilla, there was a time when all planes were propeller planes (aka "prop" planes; often aka "turboprops," although not all prop planes are turboprops. The distinction won't concern us here). But these days, the major carriers mostly use jet aircraft, as they are faster and have a higher cruising altitude, ostensibly for the smoother air there. On our last flight, someone forgot to inform the air of that.

However, a few prop planes persist, usually servicing short regional hops. If your plane has propellers, chances are it's either a Dash-8 or a Saab (yes, the car company). They're easy to tell apart.

Wings mounted on top of the fuselage? Big dopey rectangular engines that the gear comes out of? Dash-8 (more properly known as a Bombardier Dash 8 or Q Series, previously known as the de Havilland Canada Dash 8 or DHC-8). Otherwise: probably a Saab. The big Saab is a Saab 2000 and the little Saab is a Saab 340. They look very different from the Dash-8 and from each other.

One more: we should probably also mention the ATR-72 (shown at lower left), built by the French-Italian firm Aerei da Trasporto Regionale. It looks like a Dash-8, except the gear extends from the fuselage rather than the engine nacelles. It's mostly used by non-U.S. carriers.

Easy peasy.

You have reached this step because your plane does not have propellers. The next major division is between t-tails and not-t-tails. As the name implies, the t-tail has a tail shaped like the letter "t" (more properly: the horizontal stabilizer is mounted on top of the vertical stabilizer rather than on the fuselage). The t-tails we will consider are also easily identifiable in that the engines are mounted at the rear of the aircraft rather than under the wings. A picture says it all (see above).

If you are identifying a commercial t-tail, you basically have four options: the MD-80 (which we're going to aka as an MD-81, MD-82, MD-83, MD-87, and MD-88, as well as the MD-90 which might upset purists) and all the rest, where "all the rest" are much smaller than the maddog.*

Count the number of windows in the windscreen. More than four? It's an MD-80 (the MD-80 also has two little windows above the main windscreen called "eyebrows"). Otherwise, you either have (1) an Embraer 135/145 or (2) a Bombardier CRJ (Canadair Regional Jet). We won't attempt to distinguish the EMB135 from the 145. or the -200, -700, and -900 CRJ subtypes. The Embraer 145 has a long nose; the CRJ's have a stubby nose (see pics). Also, the two aircraft use different engines - Rolls-Royce on the Embraer and Pratt & Whitney on the CRJ - which are easily distinguishable. There is also a slight difference in the shape of the vertical stabilizer. Lastly, for reasons we don't understand, we have yet to see a EMB-145 with winglets.

Oops. Fly in the ointment. A few years back, Boeing started producing something called the 717 to compete in the regional jet market. You can distinguish it from the Embraer 145 and the CRJ's by the shape of the nose. In fact, the 717 looks just like a baby MD-80. Seriously. It's like an MD-80 got preggers and pooped it out.

Oops, Another fly in the ointment. A popular t-tail outside of the U.S. is/was the Fokker 100. They don't make them anymore, and American carriers don't fly them as far as we know. It looks identical to the 717 except it has an Airbus windscreen rather than a Boeing windscreen (more below on windscreens) and the two emergency exit doors over the wings are right next to each other rather than separated by a row. Think of the Fokker 100 as a baby mutant MD-80.

* We are told you earn cred in certain circles if you refer to the MD-80 (or any McDonnell Douglas product) as "maddog" (because: McDonnell Douglas. Dur-hey). It's unclear to us whether this is a term of endearment or a term of derision (like calling a Dash-8 a "Crash-8" or an Airbus a "Scarebus."). Your mileage may vary.

If you have reached this step, it is because (1) your plane does not have propellers and (2) your plane is not a t-tail. Also, there are engines under the wings. If there are four engines (two on each side), identification is pretty straightforward. Unless you're in a third world country, it's either a 747 or one of the big Airbuses. These are easy to tell apart. If you're in a third-world country (or it's 1970) you might be looking at a 707. We shall not consider this possibility.

747 - The classic jumbo, with characteristic fuselage featuring upper-deck bulge (housing first-class passengers). The Boeing 747 is probably the most-recognizable aircraft in the world.

A380 - Airbus' recently-released ginormous design. Note the double rows of windows and overall ginormous size. Big forehead. Also: ginormous. You can often spot a A380 by the accompanying gaggle of airplane nerds taking pictures of it. Of late, the A380 has had some problems with bumping into things like buildings and other airplanes.

A340 - By process of elimination, if it's not a 747 or an A380, it's probably an A340. Note comically-stretched fuselage.

Bonus! The Bae 146 is used in by several European carriers as a regional jet. It's much smaller than the other four-engine types we consider here (in fact, you might not expect such a small aircraft to have four engines) and is easily recognizable. A later improved version of the Bae 146 was built called the Avro RJ.

If you've identified your two-engine aircraft as a Boeing, it's then a question of whether it's a 737, 757, 767, or 777. The four types increase in size, but its usually easier to look for their characteristic features. Please refer to the examples shown above.

737 - Sits low to ground. Two-wheeled undercarriages. If you can see the gear, you can stop now. Also, the main gear does not retract inside the 737, so you may be able to see the tires tucked underneath one flying overhead. Typically sort of stubby looking, although the newer "stretch" models have a more-pleasing shape. Also: two-part vertical stabilizer. One final unique characteristic of the 737 are the flattened engine nacelles appearing on many (but, alas, not all) models. See pic below. Apparently these are called "hamster pouches," although it's possible that the youngsters have been hacking Wikipedia again.

757/767 - The 757 and 767 look very similar, although the 767 is indeed larger (in a side-by-side comparison, a 757 sort of looks like an anorexic 767). Both types have four-wheeled main undercarriages, distinguishing them from the smaller 737 and the larger 777. On the 757, the rear door is under the vertical stabilizer and the nose gear is directly under the main cabin door. On the 767, the rear door is ahead of the vertical stabilizer and the nose gear is ahead of the main cabin door. Also, the 767 is unique in that it is the only aircraft in which the gear hangs forward when extended (see inset at lower right).

UPDATE: Scouse23 provides another tip for telling the 757 and 767 apart down in the GuestBook.

777 - Six-wheeled main undercarriages. If you can see the gear, you can stop now. Also: knifey tail instead of the cone-shaped tail used on the 757 and 767. Also: huge engines - we dare say comically huge - but this doesn't necessarily jump out at you. Engineer-types also go on about how the 777 fuselage cross-section is circular instead of whatever it is on other planes, but without actually cutting one in half, this is not much help.

You have arrived here because you have exhausted all other possibilities in our flowchart. You probably have yourself one of the baby Airbuses.

An A330 is decidedly larger than the other two-engine Airbus 3xx series - it looks and feels more like a cousin of the (four-engined) A340. Note four-wheeled undercarriages.

As for the rest of the 300 series - one word: yikes. Can someone explain how to tell the difference between the A310, A318, A319, A320, and A321? They all have the same nose and tail shapes. They have identical windscreens. Except for the A310, they all have two-wheeled undercarriages (the A310 has four-wheeled main undercarriages). Sure, they're different sizes, but without counting seats or a tape measure, we're at a loss.

As such, we're willing to treat "Baby Airbus" as an acceptable answer if you have exhausted all other possibilities.

UPDATE: Hey, everybody! Go down and read David's Oct 21 Guestbook comment for how to ID the Airbuses. Thanks, dude!

Bonus fact! The aircraft that got clobbered by a bunch of geese and ditched on the Hudson w/o loss of life back in February 2008 was an A320. Go Captain Sully!