Vampyr Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 (edited) Do the manufacturers really make them known to the public? I can't think of any other way to find an aircraft's construction number unless you're able to walk right up to it and look at the data plate bolted on to the airframe. This relatively new F-35 for example has a construction number listed as AF-116, and the Hornet in my signature is apparently 1448/C464. How the hell did the photographers figure this out? Edited January 7, 2019 by Vampyr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mvsgas Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 (edited) The number are normally painted on the side of the aircraft. USN aircraft will have the Bu number While Air force number will be painted on the tail and the nose of the aircraft. There are some website that will list numbers around. I don't fully understand the USN and Bu numbers On USAF aircraft the First 2 numbers are the year of the contract ( what year this aircraft was order) and then the serial number. http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/usafserials.html http://www.joebaugher.com/navy_serials/navyserials.html Edited January 7, 2019 by mvsgas To whom it may concern, I am an idiot, unfortunately for the world, I have a internet connection and a fondness for beer....apologies for that. Thank you for you patience. Many people don't want the truth, they want constant reassurance that whatever misconception/fallacies they believe in are true.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vampyr Posted January 7, 2019 Author Share Posted January 7, 2019 (edited) No, those are registration numbers and are easy to find because as you said, they're visible on the outside of the aircraft. The manufacturer's serial/construction number is different and is unrelated to the military serial. It's assigned by the manufacturer and is almost always hidden away on the inside of the aircraft. Either someone's leaking these numbers to the public or they're intentionally made known to the public under freedom of information. If it's the latter, then I'd like to know what the source is. Edited January 7, 2019 by Vampyr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emu Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 I have a full list for the F-117 if that's of any use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vampyr Posted January 7, 2019 Author Share Posted January 7, 2019 I have a full list for the F-117 if that's of any use. What would be of more interest to me is knowing where you got it from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emu Posted January 8, 2019 Share Posted January 8, 2019 (edited) What would be of more interest to me is knowing where you got it from. A KeyPubs magazine on stealth aircraft. A quick Google yielded this though. https://www.skytamer.com/5.8.htm http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/usafserials.html http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/2017.html http://www.joebaugher.com/coastguardseries.html http://users.rcn.com/jeremy.k/serialSearch.html This one looks fairly good. http://www.uswarplanes.net/index.html Edited January 8, 2019 by Emu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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