Want to learn about planes

[PHL Approach]

737s, these are harder. Older 737-200s have different engines, they are smaller and more attached to the wing. on 200s the cockpit windows are a bit different to. The 300/400/500 are the trickey ones. Dont let the higher the number, the bigger confuse you. The 300 is the longest, the 500 is a bit shorter, and the 400 is the shortest. they dont have wingtips, like the NG. the 6/7/8/9 73s can be difficult to. the 6/7s early modles dont have wingtips, but the latter 7s do. the 8s and 9s both have wingtips and the 9 is longer than the 8.

As for MD, DC, and Airbus, I don't know to much about, but I can tell the difference between a DC and MD from the wingspan. Airbus are just ugly and have stange winglets that go up and down. Airbuses under bellys are different to.

I think you will find some 737-800's don't have winglets. Indeed I know this as fact, as I have flown on one.

I thought the -400 was longer than the -500? and roughly the size of a -700, though with a different nose and cockpit windows and tail.

One I used to have difficulty with was 737-800 and 767-200. untill I got the idea of the tail and nose

then the difficulty was 737-700 and -800. So I bought two models at the same scale of a -700 and an -800 and stuck them side by side in my bedroom and looked at them every day. It kinda sunk in after a while and now I can see the proportions quite easily. (did you know the wings of a 737-800 and -700 are the same size? the only difference is fuselage length really!)

I live in Australia and we only really have 3 (or 6 depending on how you count them) airlines.

Virgin Blue use only 737-700 and 737-800
Jetstar use 717-200 and A320
Qantas use 737-300, 737-400, 737-800, 767-300, 747-300, 747-400, A330-200, A330-300, with their Qantaslink subsiduary using 717-200, Dash8 Q300 and Q400, and in the west, I believe some BAe146's
Independant Regional Express Airlines REX (used to be part of the Ansett group, and now I think with an agreement with Virgin Blue) use Saab S340b and Merin Metro's, and possibly Twin Otters DHC6 too.

Since I'v gotten quite used to seeing these aircraft, and the King Air 300, around my international airport of choice, I can tell them apart quite readily. MD-11 too, although it's hard to mistake those, maybe except for against a DC-10 (but the 'tenner' doesn't have winglets)

the Airbusses are quite distinctive to me, the winglets of the A320, and the way it sits high on it's landing gear compared to a 737, and has a wierd nose compared to a 767.

A330 has an interesting wing-fuselage joining point. and the -300 is quite a bit longer than the -200. The nose and cockpit windows are also very unlike the boeings. seem alot more 'blended' and 'rounded'.

The landing gear of the 767 vs A330 is also quite interesting to see, particularly at landing or immediatley after takeoff.

the A340, I can't imagine confusing it with anything else. It's far larger than the 707 and DC9, and is quieter, and doesn't belch smoke

and if you confuse the A340 with a 747, well your just not trying hard enough

I would suggest

www.airliners.net

and if you get stuck on one pairing (for instance the 737 varients) well maybe buying a model or two might not go astray.

Ill check out the 400/500 deal, Im am almost positive, but I can be wrong.

I could see the 738 and the 762 getting confused, but the 767 is just longer, higher, bigger, and yes a different nose.

dont 777s service Austrialia?

Airbus are just wierd looking to me, I am not a fan. They can easily be told apart from one another to me.

Hitting up on 707s and DC-10s punk! Just kidding, I like those old aircraft. The wingtips on the A340 are different to and the 340 is kinda fat, the 70 dosnt have tips.

yes, 74s and 34s are very different.

Thanks

I have been meaining to add that the 400 is indeed longer than the 500. The most notable difference, is the very short distance between the engine to the nose on the 500.  As for the difference between the 400 and 300. The 300 has one overwing exit, the 400 has two. The same can be said for the 319/ 320. A319 has 1 overwing exit and A320 has two.

[n57flyguy]

Thanks, yeah, I just checked up on it. I was wrong. Thanks for correcting me though.

[stealth71]

Well, for the 737's, there are a few different generations, but as for lengths, here they are:

-100 94'0"
-200 100'2"
-300 109'7"
-400 119'7"
-500 101'9"
-600 102'6"
-700 110'4"
-800 129'6"
-900 138'2"

As for the Airbus planes, I didn't really like them either at first, but we have several a day come to MSO, so after seeing them for a while, I started to see some nice lines on them. Nice wing.

[n57flyguy]

Well, for the 737's, there are a few different generations, but as for lengths, here they are:

-100 94'0"
-200 100'2"
-300 109'7"
-400 119'7"
-500 101'9"
-600 102'6"
-700 110'4"
-800 129'6"
-900 138'2"

As for the Airbus planes, I didn't really like them either at first, but we have several a day come to MSO, so after seeing them for a while, I started to see some nice lines on them. Nice wing.

and you need 747 200 dimensions? Ha Ha, kidding I'll get them to you in a few days. Thanks for posting. By the way, what do you do at MSO?

[stealth71]

Little bit of everything, but officially I do the QC for the aviation fuel pumped into the airlines. On the side, I administrate our general aviation website, flymissoula.com. I'm also a pilot when I have the time. It's a fun place to work. May not seem like it would be a busy place, and very often during the winter it's not, but things really crank up in the spring and peak during the summer with 200-300 operations a day. If there is a heavy fire season, those numbers increase even more. Airports rock.

[n57flyguy]

Airports do rock, I want to see If I might be able to get a jjob at my local FBO, I know a guy from AOPA who knows the owners and he might be able to help me get in. Even though waxing airplanes would be laboruos, It would be great to be at an airport and GA. I could meet all sorts of awsome people there. I hope I could get a job there.

[Jason]

Airports do rock, I want to see If I might be able to get a jjob at my local FBO, I know a guy from AOPA who knows the owners and he might be able to help me get in. Even though waxing airplanes would be laboruos, It would be great to be at an airport and GA. I could meet all sorts of awsome people there. I hope I could get a job there.

I know of some FBOs that offer their employees (including line-guys) discounted flight lessons/training/rental as well.  Working around planes and then getting some money off to go fly sure beats anything else  

[n57flyguy]

Yeah, I don't think they'll hire me, because there is really nothing to do, I would like to get a job at my FBO though, It would really help the wallet.

[Jason]

Yeah, I don't think they'll hire me, because there is really nothing to do, I would like to get a job at my FBO though, It would really help the wallet.

There are always things to do!   ...there just isn't always enough money [in the budget] to compensate new employees, which is why many are not hired.  Talk to your local FBO.  I'm sure even if they don't need any help right now, you'll already have given your name to them, and they will likely come to you if/when they need someone in the future.

[n57flyguy]

the FBO at my Airport is going to be given over in about a year to the township, the airport is looking at major renovations (new taxiway, FBO, restaurant, new corporate operations, bussinesses on field, new hangers)
So soon, They might need some help when things pick up, my worry is them putting in all these new corporate hangers with busseness is that the businesses wont come in and we will be screwed with fuel costs, hanger rental, ect.

[Fra]

Hm, I was googling about this one, but I didn't find anythin.

737-230(A)

So, it's a 737-200, right? But what the 30 and A means in the abbreviation?

Thanks.

[Fra]

Or this one

B747-251B

its a 747-200, again teh 51 and b?

 

[Chaos81]

AFAIK for things like a, 737-230(a), the 30 part is the airline code. Not sure what the (a) is. The 2 is 200 as in a 737-200. So put them together and you have 737-230.

If you go look at Southwest's 737's, you will see 737-3H4 for most of the 737-300's, and 737-7H4 for most of the 737-700's.

For Delta, they use 32. So you'd have a 737-832, 767-332, 777-232 and so on.

Someone else can correct me if I'm wrong.

[Poker01]

Hi Fra, and all

Chaos is right, the last two digits represent the Boeing customer codes. A nice list of all boeing customer codes is listed here http://www.airlinecodes.co.uk/ and just surf to the "Boeing codes" section. I think the list is mantained up to date.

BTW, nice pics from Ohrid, seems a very nice place!


JM

[Fra]

Poker01, thank you! I bet Madrid is nothing less than my hometown.

Chaos81, thanks that cleared that one out.

[RatOmeter]

Personally, I'm anxious to get to see my first 787 "Dreamliner" in real life.  The promo videos make it look like an incredibly sexy jet.  

Interestingly, when I asked my sister (an MAE at Boeing Wichita) about it, she said that the distinctive wingtips (swept back and up in a sort of winglet look) have less to do with aerodynamics and more to do with marketing.  She assured me that the engineers have been trying their darnedest to make it look like what the public has been shown.

[hopskip]

some of the varients we have in Australia of the same aircraft type have different door layouts. The example I'm thinking of is the 767-338 which has one main forward door and then two overwing exits, and the 767-336 which has two main forward doors and one larger overwing exit.


To answer a question from well before. Australia does get 777's but none of our own airlines have them. Most of the 777's seen in Australia come from Southeast Asia, New Zealand or Europe/asia, but none from the local airlines.


Nowadays I find the usual airliners easy to identify... it's the GA I have issues with. I mean I can tell a Cessna 172 and a Cessna 152, or a Piper Chrokee to a Tomahawlk... Cirruis SR22, C182, C177, Baron B58, and so on, but it's when you see something you have never seen before and you go "what is... that?"

Texan T-Bird was one of the one's I only reicently discovered, and there's a bunch of anphibians I walk past to get to my flight school's C172's which I can't Identify either. Robinson R22 and R44 are easy, favourite is the Aerospaciale Dauphin II and similar as far as helos go... There's still a whole bunch of planes down at the local GAAP though that I can't tell you what they are.

[green dot speed]

Those "bumbs" on the F100 are not for the thrust reversers but for the airbrakes.

[n57flyguy]

Hm, I was googling about this one, but I didn't find anythin.

737-230(A)

So, it's a 737-200, right? But what the 30 and A means in the abbreviation?

Thanks.

Yeah, its the 737-200, pre 1986, when they stoped producing the 732s and switched to the 737 3/4/5.

the A is for advanced, as in the 727-200 A, Basically it means what it says, more advanced than the previous 100s.

the following numbers are the order codes from Boeing.

And got ya on the 777

[n57flyguy]

Personally, I'm anxious to get to see my first 787 "Dreamliner" in real life.  The promo videos make it look like an incredibly sexy jet.  

Interestingly, when I asked my sister (an MAE at Boeing Wichita) about it, she said that the distinctive wingtips (swept back and up in a sort of winglet look) have less to do with aerodynamics and more to do with marketing.  She assured me that the engineers have been trying their darnedest to make it look like what the public has been shown.

Yeah, the lines in the 787 will be more descret than actualy shown. Should be amazing to see it role out. Also, the new 747-800 looks sweet, you gotta love the cut out fins on the engines.