Just some additional info....
graphic wrote:US Military reg#'s go are six digit numbers.
This is generally true of USAF and US Army aircraft, though it is common to see Army helos with 7 digits. Older Air Force aircraft may have 7 digits as well.
More often than not, the last 5 digits will be displayed on the tail with the full, "official" tail number following a XX-XXXX pattern.
graphic wrote:The First two are the year the aircraft was built, the last four represent the number it came online, or something like that.
For USAF and Army aircraft, the first two numbers are the fiscal year in which the contract for that particular block of aircraft was signed. As for the last four digits, I think you're right. In recent years, though, an effort has been made to have those last four numbers match the manufacturer's C/N as much as possible.
Sometimes that pattern is ignored. The VC-25s are an example. They were ordered at the same time and assigned 86-8800 and 86-8900 (ordered in FY1986) but were re-designated 82-8000 and 92-9000 respectively for "vanity" purposes as they were replacing VC-137s 62-6000 and 72-7000 (26000 & 27000 replaced by 28000 & 29000).
Navy and Marine Corps aircraft use 6 digits as well, but are allocated differently. Currently, the follow the pattern of XXXXXX with the first two numbers being 16. I think the last four numbers are simply assigned sequentially as they are accepted into the fleet.
Coast Guard aircraft use 4 digits, except the two C-37s. They only have two digit tail numbers, 01 and 02. The numbers are assigned sequentially. Each aircraft type seems to have it's own "block" of numbers. For example, the MH-60s have tail numbers starting with 60 (6001, 6002, etc), MH-65s with 65 (6501, 6502, etc), the HC-144s (2301, 2302, etc).
Make Orwell fiction again.
