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Does every single aircraft have a unique registration mark or number? If, for example, 2000 Boeing 777 units were produced, do they have their own registration number? And how is that registration number regulated? Who keeps the number? What is that registration intended for? Registration number

Bianfable
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AirCraft Lover
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1 Answers1

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Yes, every aircraft has a registration number--or "tail number" since it is commonly painted on/near the tail. This links each make/model/serial combination to a specific owner, similar to a car's license plate.

Each country assigns tail numbers with that country's unique one-, two- or three-letter prefix(es), e.g. "N" for the USA and "XA" for Mexico, followed by some number of letters and/or digits according to their chosen scheme. Some countries allow requesting a specific number not already in use (or reserved), similar to vanity license plates.

For non-commercial flights, a plane's tail number is used as its radio callsign since it's guaranteed to be unique. Commercial flights typically use the carrier's callsign plus flight number.

StephenS
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  • Thank you my friend. You made the explanation easy. – AirCraft Lover Jan 23 '19 at 01:57
  • So clearly, it is belong to a country, not to an airline company, right? – AirCraft Lover Jan 23 '19 at 01:58
  • Yes, in the same way a car license plate number "belongs" to the country that assigns it--even for commercial vehicles. – StephenS Jan 23 '19 at 03:25
  • Thank you my friend. – AirCraft Lover Jan 23 '19 at 05:09
  • A historical note: The U.S. used to use NC. The change was made to just N when I was a boy. I think, but am not certain, that antique aircraft that originally were registered with NC are allowed to continue using that. – Terry Jan 23 '19 at 08:17
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    Not only countries has a prefix (United Nations: 4U), and not all countries have only one prefix (Brazil has PP to PU), see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_aircraft_registration_prefixes – Giacomo Catenazzi Jan 23 '19 at 14:08
  • In the US, Ultralight aircraft (basically weighing under 254 pounds, with some fuel limits and 2 passengers max) are not required to be registered. That does impose some limits on where they area allowed to fly https://www.usua.org/Rules/ruleandregs.htm – CrossRoads Jan 23 '19 at 15:18
  • @Terry The US has had all of N since 1919. However, N-C, N-L, N-R, and N-X were used for civil aircraft to denote the certificate type until that was abolished a few decades ago (many countries have similar schemes), and now they use just N for all aircraft. – StephenS Jan 23 '19 at 16:34
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    @GiacomoCatenazzi Edited to account for multiple prefixes. The UN only uses its prefix for its own aircraft, i.e. no other party can register its planes with them, so it's not worth the added complexity. – StephenS Jan 23 '19 at 16:38
  • @StephenS As you say, N was assigned to the U.S. in 1919, and a second letter allowed, which was, as I understand it, C for standard. Thus NC was used until 1948, when new aircraft were required to use just N. More info on https://www.faa.gov/licenses_certificates/aircraft_certification/aircraft_registry/aircraft_nnumber_history/. – Terry Jan 23 '19 at 20:16