Plane Naming Conventions

Ventucky Red

Ventucky Red

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Is there a ruling on personifying one's aircraft, that is do we still have to follow tradition with she/her/hers, or can we go with he/him/his or it/it/its?

I am thinking of Wilbur, but the wife is telling me that could bring bad luck...

So say ye?
 
Current plane: Holly
Previous: Gina, Roxanne

yeah I’d stick with tradition
 
We give ours descriptive names that really only make sense to us. The plane won't know and won't care - it's a machine, not a being lol.
 
While I’m a professional Mariner, I never subscribed to the ‘it’s bad luck to refer to an airplane as masculine’. That’s for ships.

I have only named a few airplanes I’ve flown, but they were all male names. A ship is just different. You live on a ship. An airplane, on the other hand, is more like a mount (horse) to me and I’ve owned and ridden mares and geldings.

So the airplane name tends to go with whatever persona it presents.

My Beech 18 is called ‘The Beast’
My T6 n-number ends with AJ, so previous owner and now I refer to the plane as ‘AJ’
When I owned the Waco, I named it ‘Woody’ in honor of the previous owner and the fact that it was largely made of wood.
 
Easy. Name the plane after your wife.
 
As pointed out above, lots of USN ships are named after men, typically presidents or sailors. That seems to work out pretty well. On the other hand, the only aircraft that comes to mind that was named after a guy was the Hindenburg. That may not be the best name as far as luck goes.

My favorite answer was from a P-51 pilot, who said his girlfriend ask him what he named his plane. He said "I named it after you. It's 'baby mine'". With something like 60 combat missions flown and the plane wasn't hurt, you could do worse than that for luck.
 
There was the guy that told his girl, "I named my boat after you" and sure enough After You was the name on his boat.

My current plane is named Myunn (because she's my one) and a previous plane was always referred to as "girlfriend." Used to get some strange looks and replies when I would mention that I was going to go get high with my girlfriend ...
 
My squadron mates started calling my airplane the “Bro-nanza” because I was always hauling the bros somewhere. It kinda stuck but most of the time I’m too generic and just say my Bo or the Bo.
 
Ventucky Red said:
Is there a ruling on personifying one's aircraft, that is do we still have to follow tradition with she/her/hers, or can we go with he/him/his or it/it/its?

I am thinking of Wilbur, but the wife is telling me that could bring bad luck...

So say ye?
Click to expand...
What’s unlucky about Wilbur?
 
WDD said:
Easy. Name the plane after your wife.
Click to expand...
Worked for this guy, right?
Chuck_Yeager.jpg
 
Fearless Tower said:
While I’m a professional Mariner, I never subscribed to the ‘it’s bad luck to refer to an airplane as masculine’. That’s for ships.

I have only named a few airplanes I’ve flown, but they were all male names. A ship is just different. You live on a ship. An airplane, on the other hand, is more like a mount (horse) to me and I’ve owned and ridden mares and geldings.

So the airplane name tends to go with whatever persona it presents.

My Beech 18 is called ‘The Beast’
My T6 n-number ends with AJ, so previous owner and now I refer to the plane as ‘AJ’
When I owned the Waco, I named it ‘Woody’ in honor of the previous owner and the fact that it was largely made of wood.
Click to expand...
Was the previous owner a Richard?
 
The names vary...
When repairs aren't needed: Mr Arrow
When repairs are needed: ******* ****box!

But the love is unconditional.
 
Fearless Tower said:
There are plenty of ships with masculine names.

We just refer to the ship itself in the feminine.
Click to expand...

Sure there are, but outside of the Navy it's not as common overall. Same goes for aircraft and autos. I don't mind names like Green Machine or The Beast, as they aren't really masculine per say. It also comes off weird if I say "It's time to give Rick a bath.", lol. NTTAWWT
 
SoonerAviator said:
Sure there are, but outside of the Navy it's not as common overall. Same goes for aircraft and autos. I don't mind names like Green Machine or The Beast, as they aren't really masculine per say. It also comes off weird if I say "It's time to give Rick a bath.", lol. NTTAWWT
Click to expand...

Please don’t post pics of you waxing Ole Rick…
 
Name it Enola Gay

Those who know history will give you a wide berth. Those that don’t will be confused.
 
texasclouds said:
Please don’t post pics of you waxing Ole Rick…
Click to expand...
In an effort not to set a bad example, I am refraining from posting a pun about naming your plane after the person who steered the boat when you rowed crew at Harvard.
 
Fearless Tower said:
There are plenty of ships with masculine names.
Click to expand...
Like the "Edmund Fitzgerald" for example.

@NealRomeoGolf calls his "Sir Lancelot", and even uses masculine pronouns. He doesn't get too bent out of shape when I misgender it though.

I am annoyed more than I probably should be by people referring to their vehicles with little pet names. Piper gave my airplane a name, and that's enough for me.

I do refer to her as a "her" though. I love her, and she can be a cranky, expensive pain in my ass at times, so my brain thinks of her as female. I've always wondered if female plane/boat owners refer to their vehicles as "he" for the same reasons.
 
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Jim K said:
Like the "Edmund Fitzgerald" for example.

@NealRomeoGolf calls his "Sir Lancelot", and even uses masculine pronouns. He doesn't get to bent out of shape when I misgender it though.

I am annoyed more than I probably should be by people referring to their vehicles with little pet names. Piper gave my airplane a name, and that's enough for me.

I do refer to her as a "her" though. I love her, and she can be a cranky, expensive pain in my *** at times, so my brain thinks of her as female. I've always wondered if female plane/boat owners refer to their vehicles as "he" for the same reasons.
Click to expand...
I actually feel weird calling the plane a he but that's the direction I went.
 
Jim K said:
Like the "Edmund Fitzgerald" for example.

@NealRomeoGolf calls his "Sir Lancelot", and even uses masculine pronouns. He doesn't get to bent out of shape when I misgender it though.

I am annoyed more than I probably should be by people referring to their vehicles with little pet names. Piper gave my airplane a name, and that's enough for me.

I do refer to her as a "her" though. I love her, and she can be a cranky, expensive pain in my *** at times, so my brain thinks of her as female. I've always wondered if female plane/boat owners refer to their vehicles as "he" for the same reasons.
Click to expand...
 
Since my tail numbers end with xxxLU I 'identify it' as Lou. Works to keep it gender neutral so I don't offend the non-binary crowd. :rolleyes:
 
There's a popular accessory bought by men who drive big trucks; it hangs from the tow hitch. Wonder if it'd fit a tailwheel.....

Ron Wanttaja
 
wanttaja said:
There's a popular accessory bought by men who drive big trucks; it hangs from the tow hitch. Wonder if it'd fit a tailwheel.....

Ron Wanttaja
Click to expand...
I'm going to buy a pair of those and hang them on Neal's tail tie down when he's not looking.
 
Jim K said:
I'm going to buy a pair of those and hang them on Neal's tail tie down when he's not looking.
Click to expand...
A buddy of mine once tied the real thing from a deer I helped him drag out to the hitch of my truck. Joke was on him as his dog thought it was a snack, had the runs for a week.
 
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