Telling aircraft apart
You don't need to memorise a catalogue. Almost every identification narrows quickly if you check four things in order: how many engines and where they are, the nacelle shape, the wingtip, and the nose and tail profile.
Narrowbodies — the two you'll see most
- Boeing 737 — flat-bottomed engine nacelle, a pointed nose, and an eyebrow-free flight deck on newer builds. The MAX adds tall split-tip winglets and a serrated engine cowl edge.
- Airbus A320 family — circular nacelle, blunter nose, and on modern examples the tall curved sharklet. The A319, A320 and A321 differ mainly in fuselage length and door count.
Widebodies
- Boeing 787 — raked wingtips with no winglet at all, and a serrated (chevron) trailing edge on the engine nacelles. The wings flex noticeably in the climb.
- Airbus A350 — curved blended wingtip and a distinctive dark "mask" around the flight-deck windows.
- Boeing 777 — large, long, no winglets on most variants, and a main gear with six wheels per leg rather than four.
- Airbus A330 — similar size to a 777 but with a smaller wing, plain winglets and four wheels per main leg.
Regional jets and turboprops
This is where most people stop, and it's mostly a tail question. An Embraer E-Jet has a conventional tail with engines under the wing. A CRJ has a T-tail with engines mounted on the rear fuselage. An ATR 42/72 is a high-wing turboprop with a T-tail; a Dash 8 / Q400 is a high-wing turboprop too but noticeably faster-looking, with a longer nacelle and a distinctive whine.
Light and general aviation
High wing versus low wing does most of the work. Cessna 172 and 182 are high-wing with a strut; Piper PA-28s are low-wing; Cirrus SR20 and SR22 are low-wing composite aircraft with a distinctive swept tail and no separate cabin door frame. If it's a low-wing composite single with a parachute placard on the fuselage, it's a Cirrus.