Identify by airplane characteristics

The first German jet airliner has a typical look with its tandem landing gear, high mounted wings and engines in paired nacelles hanging on long pylons below the wings. (photo: Giso Löwe/WkiMedia)

Noticable on this aircraft are the relatively short landing gear, the low vertical stabiliser with bullet fairing on top but no dorsal fin in front, a wide fuselage (giving it a "fatty" appearance) and a pointed nose.

The large diameter fuselage of the Beech 17 tapers very quickly after the cabin, one of its recognition points. It also has a retractable gear. Unusual is that the lower wing is staggered in front of the upper wing. Normally the stagger is the other way around.

The basic Beechcraft model 18 has two radial engines mounted in the wings, a tail wheel undercarriage and an H-tail. This makes it similar to the Lockheed 10, Lockheed 12 and Barkley-Grow T8P-1. The cockpit windows are the best way to keep them apart. The Beechcraft Model 18 comes however in many different versions, of which some even with a single vertical stabiliser and/or nose wheel. These are described separately.

These Beechcraft single piston engine aircraft are similar in appearance as the Piper PA-28. Its main distinctive features are a high front cockpit window and a trailing link main and nose landing gear. The gear can be fixed or retractable.

The Beech 1900 commuter aircraft shares many components with the Super King Air series. Essentially it is a stretched Beech 200 with a higher cabin and further spaced, oval cabin windows.

The Starship is a twin turboprop aircraft with pusher props and a canard configuration. It has no single vertical stabiliser, but two vertical surfaces at the wingtips acting as vertical stabilisers. This distinguishes the aircraft the most from the Piaggio Avanti.

The Beechjet, and the MU-300 from which it was developed, is a small business jet that can particularly recognised by its typical cockpit window configuration: the frame is diagonal but titled ninety degrees compared to "standard". The cabin windows are oval.

Although bearing the name Bonanza the Beech 50 is bigger than the true twin Bonanzas, the Travel Air and Baron. The Twin Bonanza is similar to the smaller siblings, with as main recognition point the main gear that retracts forward in the nacelles. The vertical stabiliser is always non-swept.

The Beech 99 commuter aircraft is clearly a descendant of the Beech 65 Queen Air. It is basically a stretched version with the turboprop engines of the King Air and a much longer nose. The Beech 99 retains the square cabin windows of the Queen Air.