View Full Version : What should I call an aircraft?
1970s Spotter
30th Sep 2010, 13:06
Evening All,
I am in the process of writing an article about a number of aircraft flying cargo during the 1970s.
Do I refer to each aircraft as 'her/she' or 'it'?
I usually go for 'her/she', but when used tens of times in an article I think it looks a bit poncey. . . however 'it' looks too 'cold' and sterile.
What's the general consensus of opinion?
:bored:
forget
30th Sep 2010, 13:10
It. ..................................................
The SSK
30th Sep 2010, 13:10
Cargo ?
'It'
RampTramp
30th Sep 2010, 13:38
I agree, 'it'..... with the occasional 'the aircraft' thrown in:rolleyes:
The SSK
30th Sep 2010, 13:42
Please don't call it a 'ship' or a 'bird'. That really gets up my nose.
flydive1
30th Sep 2010, 14:38
If you knew how much trouble an aircraft can give you, you would go for "She";)
olympus
30th Sep 2010, 16:35
'It', 'aircraft', or 'aeroplane'. Nothing else.
And forgive me if you know this but if you want to refer (say) to its colour (or whatever) then it is 'its' not 'it's'.
Albert Driver
30th Sep 2010, 18:57
Call it what its crew calls it.......
...."Effing Thing"
:ok:
forget
30th Sep 2010, 19:53
And forgive me if you know this but if you want to refer (say) to its colour (or whatever) then it is 'its' not 'it's'.
Just to help out 1970s Spotter, how about - it's red. Is this OK?
Gingie
30th Sep 2010, 20:05
After reading different articles and reports a/c seems popular?
JEM60
30th Sep 2010, 20:10
I started a thread about this a couple of years ago, on another site. saying that the Vulcan was an 'it' not a 'she'. I felt that people were being oversentimental about it. Boy,was I in trouble!!. 4 pages of verbal abuse !!.
l.garey
1st Oct 2010, 11:13
Forget:
Yes, it's OK
Laurence
Morris542
1st Oct 2010, 11:39
If Reach for the Sky is anything to go by...
..."never never call it a plane. It is an aeroplane".
forget
1st Oct 2010, 12:32
Forget:
Yes, it's OK
Errr, hope that was a joke. ;) Mine was.
Tankertrashnav
1st Oct 2010, 16:16
If you use slang in an area you're not quite sure of you will inevitably get it wrong (as in Americans saying "I paid one quid for it" etc). Therefore avoid all slang terms such as crate, ship, machine, etc and I'd go along with all the others who recommend "it" instead of he or she. And definitely aircraft (or a/c), not plane. Airplane fine for a US readership of course.
Agaricus bisporus
1st Oct 2010, 16:51
"Machine" a slang term? I think not...
Quite the opposite, surely?
Tankertrashnav
1st Oct 2010, 20:31
Well, was common parlance in aviation circles in 14-18 I think, but imagine a Typhoon pilot saying he was going out to check over his machine!
I rest my case!
Fly380
2nd Oct 2010, 08:23
Which aircraft in particular?
PontiusPilote
5th Oct 2010, 00:38
Machine is still good.