Tail number
Encyclopedia
A tail number refers to an identification number painted on an aircraft, frequently on the tail
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Tail numbers can represent:
Vertical stabilizer
The vertical stabilizers, vertical stabilisers, or fins, of aircraft, missiles or bombs are typically found on the aft end of the fuselage or body, and are intended to reduce aerodynamic side slip. It is analogical to a skeg on boats and ships.On aircraft, vertical stabilizers generally point upwards...
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Tail numbers can represent:
- An aircraft registrationAircraft registrationAn aircraft registration is a unique alphanumeric string that identifies a civil aircraft, in similar fashion to a licence plate on an automobile...
number (civil aviation) - United States military aircraft serialsUnited States military aircraft serialsIn the United States, all military aircraft display a serial number to identify individual aircraft. Because these numbers are located on the aircraft tail, they are sometimes referred to unofficially as "tail numbers"...
See also
- tail codeTail CodeTail codes are the markings usually on the vertical stabilizer of U.S. military aircraft that help to identify the aircraft's unit and/or base assignment and occasionally other information that is not unique. This is not the same as the serial number, bureau number, or aircraft registration which...
, which is not a unique identifier - Tail flash
- Fin flashFin flashA fin flash is part of the national markings of the military aircraft of a number of countries.In addition to the insignia displayed on the wings and fuselage, usually in the form of roundels, an additional marking known as a fin flash may also be displayed on the fin. A fin flash often takes the...