Find solution
Suggestions for a unique number plate?

Are tail numbers "N" number on airplanes as unique an identifier for a plane like a license plate for a car?

  • Just wondering - it seems a tail number (the "N" number) for civilian aircraft has only 5 digits of which 2 are letters reserved to indicate the airline. So what happens if an airline has more than 1000 planes? I can imagine tha large carriers do have more than that. How would the number then look like? I tried to enter a longer number on the faa.gov website and it responded back that the number is too long. Thank you!

  • Answer:

    All aircraft need a registration number(like a car's license plate), the N denotes that an aircraft is registered in the United States. This is followed by from 1 to 5 numbers (N12345); 1 to 4 numbers followed by one letter (N1234A) or 1 to 3 numbers followed by two letters (N123AB). The letters if any, must be at the end of the registration. To avoid confusion with the numbers 1 and 0, the letters I and O are not to be used. There are more than 1000 possible alternatives to the 1 to 3 number and two letter combination as N1AB is not the same as N001AB. I do not know of any airlines with anything near 1000 aircraft in its fleet(American has 678), but if there was, they could use another combination of one or two letters. The AA that usually follows an American Airlines aircraft registration is not fixed or reserved for American Airlines only. Though they may have them reserved with the FAA to ensure that only they use these numbers, this does not mean they can only use N plus 3 numbers plus AA.

spaceska... at Yahoo! Answers Visit the source

Was this solution helpful to you?

Other answers

The tail number should be unique. The "N" stands for North America. There are other letters that are used in the United States. For example, "SP" stands for state police.

wires

You can have letters in any position in the sequence, which makes for far more than 1,000 possible identifiers. You're right about the "N." It also identifies it as a U.S. aircraft. P.S. "N" does not stand for North Amercia, or, at least, not any more. Canadian aircraft start with a "C".

Pepper

See "frankclau"'s answer. it is the most correct answer on here. I am an A and P Aircraft mechanic and also a Commercial Rotorcraft Pilot.

Rage

They are!! The N denotes USA registration.

rabbit

Yep

wl98208

yes, they're kinda the license plate and unique for each country but for the airline, they usually use their flight number as their call sign, e.g. UA225, mostly just smaller and private aircraft use their tail number

clara

Tail numbers are unique. N numbers are unique to US [not North America -- Canada numbers start with C]. If you have a tail number, you can go to the FAA's web site to see who owns the airplane. The numbers usually have nothing particular to do with the air carrier operating the airplane. Usually, US tail numbers are five characters after the N, with the first three, four, or all five of these being digits, but if you buy an airplane and want a particular tail ID, and it is not already in use, you can ask the FAA and get it.

rhsaunders

Related Q & A:

Just Added Q & A:

Find solution

For every problem there is a solution! Proved by Solucija.

  • Got an issue and looking for advice?

  • Ask Solucija to search every corner of the Web for help.

  • Get workable solutions and helpful tips in a moment.

Just ask Solucija about an issue you face and immediately get a list of ready solutions, answers and tips from other Internet users. We always provide the most suitable and complete answer to your question at the top, along with a few good alternatives below.