NC tail numbers

Does anyone know the story behind the NC numbers on all of the old Cubs? Our new ('47) PA-12 has an NC number which is displayed on the top of the right wing and the bottom of the left wing. It also has the number on both sides of the tail in characters that are about 4" tall. When did the FAA switch to N numbers?

JMBreitinger said:

Does anyone know the story behind the NC numbers on all of the old Cubs? Our new ('47) PA-12 has an NC number which is displayed on the top of the right wing and the bottom of the left wing. It also has the number on both sides of the tail in characters that are about 4" tall. When did the FAA switch to N numbers?

Click to expand...

John...

You can still display the "NC"...

TITLE 14--AERONAUTICS AND SPACE

CHAPTER I--FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

PART 45--IDENTIFICATION AND REGISTRATION MARKING--Table of Contents

Subpart C--Nationality and Registration Marks

Sec. 45.22 Exhibition, antique, and other aircraft: Special rules.

(a) When display of aircraft nationality and registration marks in
accordance with Secs. 45.21 and 45.23 through 45.33 would be
inconsistent with exhibition of that aircraft, a U.S.-registered
aircraft may be operated without displaying those marks anywhere on the
aircraft if:
(1) It is operated for the purpose of exhibition, including a motion
picture or television production, or an airshow;
(2) Except for practice and test fights necessary for exhibition
purposes, it is operated only at the location of the exhibition, between
the exhibition locations, and between those locations and the base of
operations of the aircraft; and
(3) For each flight in the United States:

(i) It is operated with the prior approval of the Flight Standards
District Office, in the case of a flight within the lateral boundaries
of the surface areas of Class B, Class C, Class D, or Class E airspace
designated for the takeoff airport, or within 4.4 nautical miles of that
airport if it is within Class G airspace; or

(ii) It is operated under a flight plan filed under either
Sec. 91.153 or Sec. 91.169 of this chapter describing the marks it
displays, in the case of any other flight.
(b) A small U.S.-registered aircraft built at least 30 years ago or
a U.S.-registered aircraft for which an experimental certificate has
been issued under Sec. 21.191(d) or 21.191(g) for operation as an
exhibition aircraft or as an amateur-built aircraft and which has the
same external configuration as an aircraft built at least 30 years ago
may be operated without displaying marks in accordance with Secs. 45.21
and 45.23 through 45.33 if:
(1) It displays in accordance with Sec. 45.21(c) marks at least 2
inches high on each side of the fuselage or vertical tail surface
consisting of the Roman capital letter ``N'' followed by:
(i) The U.S. registration number of the aircraft; or
(ii) The symbol appropriate to the airworthiness certificate of the
aircraft (``C'', standard; ``R'', restricted; ``L'', limited; or ``X'',
experimental) followed by the U.S. registration number of the aircraft;
and
(2) It displays no other mark that begins with the letter ``N''
anywhere on the aircraft, unless it is the same mark that is displayed
under paragraph (b)(1) of this section.
(c) No person may operate an aircraft under paragraph (a) or (b) of
this section--
(1) In an ADIZ or DEWIZ described in Part 99 of this chapter unless
it temporarily bears marks in accordance with Secs. 45.21 and 45.23
through 45.33;
(2) In a foreign country unless that country consents to that
operation; or
(3) In any operation conducted under Part 121, 133, 135, or 137 of
this chapter.

[[Page 869]]

(d) If, due to the configuration of an aircraft, it is impossible
for a person to mark it in accordance with Secs. 45.21 and 45.23 through
45.33, he may apply to the Administrator for a different marking
procedure.

[Doc. No. 8093, Amdt. 45-5, 33 FR 450, Jan. 12, 1968, as amended by
Amdt. 45-13, 46 FR 48603, Oct. 1, 1981; Amdt. 45-19, 54 FR 39291, Sept.
25, 1989; Amdt. 45-18, 54 FR 34330, Aug. 18, 1989; Amdt. 45-21, 56 FR
65653, Dec. 17, 1991; Amdt. 45-22, 66 FR 21066, Apr. 27, 2001]

Thanks. When did they drop the C?

JMBreitinger said:

Thanks. When did they drop the C?

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It was in the 50s... May have been at the time of the CAA to FAA change, 1958...

Does anybody no for sure what NC stood for when it was used?

jeffrey jones said:

Does anybody no for sure what NC stood for when it was used?

Click to expand...

"N"'s for United States registry, "C"'s for commercial/standard...

"R"'s for restricted, "X"'s for experimental, "L"'s for limited, etc...

ah gwashoppa, I not so sewer you wite on dis one. I need sumting to proov to my fwend. He say stan fo nort continent. He wite o what.

jeffrey jones said:

ah gwashoppa, I not so sewer you wite on dis one. I need sumting to proov to my fwend. He say stan fo nort continent. He wite o what.

Click to expand...

He could be right, although it could stand for "number", "nitwit", "not even close", "nada" or "nimrod"... But he's not...

"N"'s for United States registry...

jeffrey jones said:

ah gwashoppa, I not so sewer you wite on dis one. I need sumting to proov to my fwend. He say stan fo nort continent. He wite o what.

Click to expand...

Long a source of confusion for researchers, the plan for aircraft licenses and their display was actually grounded in logic, short-sighted though it may have been. A summary, digested in chronological form from William T Larkins' work in British Air Pictorial in 1954, is presented in hopes of clarifying the waters a bit:

1919 = The Convention for the Regulation of Air Navigation, as part of the October 1919 Peace Conference, created the system of international identification still in use that sets the first letter(s) as country of origin: N for United States, D for Germany, G for Great Britain, SE for Sweden, etc. This system was in use for seven years before it was formally ratified by our government.

1921 = In July the National Aircraft Underwriters Association, a service organization for the insurance industry, established a five-letter licensing code, but this system was voluntary with no governmental teeth in it. Because of indifference from manufacturers (only 33 planes were registered by the end of 1922, and it's doubtful if that number exceeded 50). It was history by 1925, but some aircraft of that period appeared as N-ABCA, N-ABCB, etc; see below.

1926 = In May the first real attempt at organization came with the federal Air Commerce Act that went into effect in January 1927. In this system a class letter C, S, or P was to be added, denoting Commercial, State, or Private. C specified approved (airworthy) airplanes used in commerce and the air mail, but this was amended in 1930 to include any aircraft meeting minimum government airworthiness requirements regardless of its use. S was for state- or federal-owned planes, with most all states requiring aircraft operated within their boundaries to bear an NC number (Oregon, where much flying activity took place, was a notable exception), but this was dropped in 1937. P only lasted until March 1927 to sort out private aircraft from C and S (no example of an NP designation was located). A limit of five numbers seemed adequate at the time for present and future aircraft, but these were all taken by 1929!

"Identified Aircraft" was the term used to designate aircraft that did not meet minimum airworthiness requirements, and it was possible to register such an aircraft until March 1939. These would wear IMA (Identification Mark Assignment) numbers, usually without the N.

1929 = A new plan was to approve three numerals, and a suffix: E, H, K, M, N, V, W or Y. Not surprisingly, these new blocks were used up by the end of 1934.

Class prefixes R and X for Restricted and Experimental aircraft were established. A class prefix of G identified Gliders until it was canceled in 1937, with sailplanes and gliders placed the same bag as powered aircraft. The use of the letter N was optional at this time for aircraft flown within the nation's boundaries.

1935 = Visionaries stepped in and claimed an increase to five numerals would surely do it. This opened up a block from 10000 to 99999, but these, too, showed signs of being gobbled up by the war years.

1938 = The Civil Aeronautics Authority (CAA) was established as an independent agency and, in 1940, was split into two parts -- the Civil Aeronautics Board, to handle rule making, regulation, and accident investigation, and the Civil Aeronautics Administration, to take care of licensing and certification, airway development, and safety enforcement. By the outbreak of war, CAA had also assumed control of landings and takeoffs at airports. The Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) would not arrive until November 1, 1958.

1946 = Blocks of three and four numerals with the other letter suffixes (except number-lookalikes I and O) were added, and 46000 to 79999 were generally reserved for war-surplus aircraft. A class prefix L for Limited type certification went into effect, lasting only until 1948.

1948 = Class prefixes of C, R, and X were eliminated in December, and only the N was used.

1953 = Double suffixes with three numerals were authorized in March.

None of these rules was carved in marble, and exceptions were manifold. A notable example is a de Havilland DH-4 that earned the very first license in its duties with the Department of Commerce. It proudly wore N1, even though to abide by its owner's rules it should have been NS1. Because of DoC's practice of reassigning numbers after the sale, destruction, or export of an airplane to another, N1 showed up later on a government Northrop Alpha 2, a Ford 5-AT, a Lockheed 12-A, and a DC-3!

In other instances, a number might be borrowed temporarily by a manufacturer from an inactive company hack for use on a prototype until it had its own license, or a "blue-sky" number might be painted on a new model for photographic or publicity purposes.

Special-request registrations became popular, accounting for the many low-number- plus-suffix registrations, especially after World War Two. If one had the $10.00 fee, one could have just about anything, as long as it was available.

With batch allocations by CAA to regional offices for areal distribution, numbers became cloudy as a logical reference tool, indicating where airplanes were licensed, and not where or when they were built. Additionally, some batches were issued to large manufacturers, which explains how Douglas cornered the N30000 market.