Let’s Have Some Tail Number Fun

[GeeBee]

Not an  N number but a ship number. I was preparing to go to DFW in a 757. The ship number was 666. It was painted big as life on the nose gear doors. A lady stopped me in the gate house and asked, "Is that our airplane?" I said, "Yes M'am, a Boeing 757." She said, "Oh no Captain, I can't get on that airplane.". I said, "Mark of the devil?" She said, "Oh Lord, yes!" I decided there was no use convincing her there was a ship 665 and a ship 667 I just said, "M'am, let's get you on another flight" and escorted her to the agent. She booked her on the next flight out.

As Paul Harvey says, "Now for the rest of the story". We taxi'd out and on the way the air-ground sensing went awry and it was screaming all kinds of warning and cautions at us. We returned to the gate. They decided to get us another airplane due to arrive in about an hour. I was walking through the food court when I saw the lady. She said, "Back from Dallas so soon?" I said, "No we had a mechanical and had to return to the gate.". She said, "The Lord was watching out for you." I smiled and said "We pilots need him more than most folks!".

[Sue Bon]

Here in Switzerland, all Swiss aircraft have HB-something. All Mooneys have HB-Dsomething (I am HB-DFA). There is one Mooney based at a different airport that I have to admit, I would never buy/fly.... HB-DIE

 

[Guest]

I’ve got N201jk. Mooney’s joke, haha you thought you would do 201, j/k. 

[Pictreed]

I've got one that would be funny.  I did IFR training in a 172RG with tail number N172RG.  It was scrapped a couple years ago when the nose gear collapsed. 

ATC would always ask, "172 romeo golf, what's the make of your aircraft".  "172 romeo golf is a 172 romeo golf!"  LOL

[toomany]

N69YA - on an rv in indiana


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[Stubby]

I've got N9777F and that gets me tongue tied often and almost every controller drops a 7 out when repeating it. I've had a couple controllers just go with Mooney-Niner-Triple 7-Fox and that works pretty good.

[Igor_U]

I had to post this one! 

 

[dkkim73]

On 2/18/2023 at 5:20 PM, GeeBee said:

I think of it as a built in skill and sobriety check.

 

"Sir, I've been following you on that NDB approach and you were a little wobbly. Please step out of the aircraft and repeat your full tail number..."

 

[dkkim73]

On 1/3/2024 at 12:55 AM, Sue Bon said:

Here in Switzerland, all Swiss aircraft have HB-something. All Mooneys have HB-Dsomething (I am HB-DFA). There is one Mooney based at a different airport that I have to admit, I would never buy/fly.... HB-DIE

 

What is HB for? CH I know...

[dkkim73]

I always liked the single syllable ones. Used to fly a N4AM. 

Maybe I can get N20MM...

 

[Sue Bon]

On 12/19/2024 at 1:58 AM, dkkim73 said:

What is HB for? CH I know...

It was assigned by the Radiotelegraph Treaty of Washington in 1934. They replaced CH with HB, H for Helvitica and the B was just random, I guess. I'm not sure why they made the change. No other country has CH.

[Ibra]

4 hours ago, Sue Bon said:

They replaced CH with HB, H for Helvitica and the B was just random, I guess. I'm not sure why. No other country has CH.

Maybe H- (Haiti) and HA- (Hungary) were already taken? CH would have been more intuitive 

Someone was unhappy with CH, a referendum was held, HB comes out of it, all aircraft were repainted and everyone is happy 

Edited December 19, 2024 by Ibra

[Sue Bon]

3 hours ago, Ibra said:

Maybe H- (Haiti) and HA- (Hungary) were already taken? CH would have been more intuitive 

Yes, and yes  

[Scott Ashton]

I just reserved N10XY for mine....

New paint and new number next year...

[67 m20F chump]

I will add a N number story from my past.  I went to collage at Embry-Riddle back in the 90’s.  They would reserve blocks of ER numbers for new aircraft.  Say they were contracting 50 planes they would block out a series of N numbers ending with ER.  I can’t remember if it was on a piper or Cessna but the school blocked out one hundred series numbers and that was great until 166 showed up on the ramp.  It was promptly changed!  For the record I didn’t get it either because I saw a registration not a word.  

I have seen some of the schools old planes over the years and they will change one of the letters when they sell an old plane and the school keeps the ER tag.  That was 30 years ago.  The time slips away.