Aircraft Recognition (Aircraft Recce) A simple guide

King Air 2. The mainplanes are straight, with no sweep Twin-engined low wing monoplane 3. Mounted at the tip of the tail is a slightly-swept tailplane Mounted at the tip of the tail is a slightly-swept tailplane 4. The fuselage cabin is square when viewed from the front 1. The engines protrude well forward of the wing leading edge

Tornado GR4 5. To differentiate between the GR4 and F3 (fighter) look at the shape of the nose; the GR4 is much blunter and less streamlined(1); the F3's is longer and sleeker 2. Short, fat fuselage with a very large, swept fin and rudder The easiest ways to differentiate between the GR4 and F3 (fighter) versions are the shape of the nose; the GR4 is much blunter and less streamlined(1); the F3's is longer and sleeke 4. Two-seat tandem cockpit A short nose cone 3. Shoulder-mounted 'swing wings' can move between 17° and 68° of sweep

VC 10 4. Refuelling hoses are mounted under the fuselage and in pods on the outer wings 3. Large swept 'T' tail A long circular narrow-body fuselage with low swept wings set well back towards the tail appearance of having a very long forward fuselage. 2. The pairs of podded engines are mounted on the sides of the rear fuselage

Harrier GR7 4. T10 has a more pronounced 'hump' for the twin cockpit and is slightly longer than the GR7. 3. Sharply downward-sloping wing and tailplane, and large air intakes Unusual undercarriage with two Outrigger Wheels at about two-thirds span 2. The cockpit glazing is large and pronounced on all versions

Nimrod MR2 2. Cockpit built into the steeply raked nose and letter box window. In-flight refuelling probe above the cockpit 4. Low-set wings slightly swept on the forward edge. The four turbofans are buried in the wings. Bullet-shaped wing fairings project from the leading edges towards the wingtips Long 'double bubble‘ fuselage 3. The fuselage tailcone extends well beyond the fin and rudder to house a magnetic anomaly detector (MAD) unit 5. The Nimrod's fin, which has a large dorsal section extending well forward, is surmounted by an elliptical-shaped fairing..