Okay so I figured maybe I'd pick something in aviation that you can use every time you're sitting at your gate looking out the window (that is if you're me). I love plane spotting, which involves looking for both aircraft types and liveries. Tonight I thought I'd show you how to tell the difference between the bigger Boeing jets, the important and most common airplanes you'll see.
B747-100, SP, 200,300,400,800
The 747 is probably the easiest plane to spot. You just need to look for the forward double-deck "hump" and 4 pod engines. It's the only aircraft anywhere in the world that has those two defining features. Now to distinguish between the types:
B747-100,200,300,400 -> These models all look the same from the outside and just involve mechanical and electrical upgrades, ie not airframe or engine modifications that are really noticeable from far away.
B747 SP -> This is an extremely rare aircraft and I have never seen it. It is not flown by any airline that enters the U.S. currently. Essentially, the fuselage behind the hump is shortened inorder to allow the aircraft to have better range and be able to fly out of shorter runways.
B747-800 -> This plane hasn't been delivered yet but will just have an extended double deck as well as fuselage.
B777-200,200ER,200LR,300,300ER
Telling the difference between the variants isn't important since they just involve different MTOWs and ranges and not structural modifications that are externally obvious.
Ok, the 777 can be difficult to distinguish between the 767 and some Airbuses. First of all, the 777 is the largest twin engine aircraft on the market. But from a distance, its size can be difficult to pinpoint. My way to identify it are those big beautiful GE90s. Its two engines are the largest, most powerful turbofans ever made. You'll notice in the picture, that its engines are nearly 2/3 the entire diameter of the fuselage of the aircraft, a feature unique to the 777. This'll be more evident after looking at the other planes.
B767,etc
Just as the B777, the variants are unimportant for non-intense airplane nerds.
Although the 767 came first, it just looks a smaller version of the 777 since they are both widebodies. You can tell its smaller by the distance from the cockpit windows to the bottom of the fuselage. The nose is also a bit more rounded. But the better give away it is comparatively smaller engines to the 777. So look for the same relative shape as the 777 but a significantly smaller engine.
B757, etc
Variants once again are not important.
The 757 is a bit of an odd ball. If an airplane could be, it is lanky. Since it is boeing's largest narrowbody, its fuselage is quite narrow but long, has a large tail and horizontal stabilizers, and long landing gear. But the way I usually notice it is its nose. It has an asymmetric nose, with a long down-sloping top section with the cockpit windows and an almost non-existing bottom slope. It kind of looks like an Amtrack locomotive. If you see it from straight on, its size and narrow fuselage will quite clearly give it away.
B737,100,200,800/NG,etc...
Ok, there are really only two variants that are important, the old versions and new versions. The differences are only noticeable in the engines.
First of all, the 737 is Boeing's smallest narrowbody (although it is not nearly as small the CRJs and ERJs). It is short but has a relatively symmetric nose unlike the 757. To me what stands out is how low it is to the ground. It kinda reminds me of a Corgi, a rotund Corgi. In fact its so low to the ground, that the engine cowlings aren't circular, but are cut off at the bottom to prevent the engines from striking the ground when the wing flexes on touch down.
The reason it is so low is because its an old enough design that it was originally designed with turbojets instead of turbofans, which are far more tubular and narrow as shown here:
And this is also how you spot older versions, as in pre-NG (next generation) 737s, by the long, tubular engines instead of wider, shorter turbofans.
Now here I have just shown the differences between the Boeing aircraft. The real challenge is telling the differences between some Airbuses and Boeings which fulfill the same size and range specifications. And just incase you didn't know, a widebody has two aisles inside, a narrowbody one.
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o btdubs, the old 737s with the long, narrow engines didn't use turbojets, they were just low-bypass early generation turbofans. The last turbojets on western airliners were on 707s, 717s, a few 727s, and early generation DC-8s, which are no longer in service just about anywhere in the U.S. and Europe. Turbojets aren't used because they are less fuel efficient and loud, so they can't operate at most major airports due to noise abatement regulations.
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