YR-TGM
Unregistered
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Posted: May 05 2003, 13:04 |
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G-MOVJ couldn't ever exist (the painter just invented it). Here's the reason why:
The ICAO civil registration prefix codes are used for stations (aircraft, ships etc) to designate their country of origin.
An aircraft's 'tail number' is formed by the registration prefix, followed by letters or numbers.
For example G is the prefix for Great Britain, N for the US, PH for Netherlands, SE for Sweden, OH for Finland, YR for Romania... See my user name? YR-TGM... that's a Romanian plane callsign (pronounced yankee romeo tango golf mike).
As you already know, G is for the UK (since 1929). Now some more detail about UK registrations...
G-Axxx is U.K. - including aircraft from Bahrein, Gibraltar, Kuwait (until 1961), Cyprus (until 1952), TransJordan (until 1946), Muscat and Oman (until 1973).
By 1972 this initial, very rigorously maintained block had reached G-AZZZ.
Since then more or less any 4 letter suffix is allowed within the range G-AAAA to G-ZZZZ. However (with a few exceptions) a previously used registration can't be reallocated.
In the early days of Concorde operations by British Airways,as a matter of convenience to satisfy the US authorities,who were reluctant to allow operation into the US of supersonic aircraft with non-US registration, the Concordes were registered both in the US and UK and carried the marks thus GN-94AC etc.
If we look deeper in the UK tail number structures, we can find out that the second letter does also have a meaning!
For example G-Gxxx for gliders, G-Ixxx for India (only until 1929) etc.
Ok, so what's the point? Well, we can easily find out that G-Mxxx registrations were/are used in the UK for ultralights (system full in 98).
As the Beech 18G isn't an ultralight, it can't have a tail number like G-Mxxx. So I can say for sure that this plane didn't exist.
Sorry if I disappointed someone...
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