Anyone who has visited the downloads page on this site will have seen that there are a number of files available, these files are created by me from a number of sources and I intend to add more files over time.
The files are created from official sources and come with any mistakes contained in those official sources, just because it comes from the Federal Aviation Authority doesn’t actually mean that it is correct. What has to be taken into account is the fact that there are probably few checks on the data, that the data is input by individuals and there are many ways for the individual to missconstrue that data.
Take as an example the North American P-51D Mustang, almost all of them are using the USAAF assigned serial number instaed of the North American manufactiring serial number. In some cases the USAAF serial number is hyphenated in other cases not, the aitcraft detail is also sometimes hyphenated and sometimes not as in P51 or P-51. Not that this is a problem in the case of the P-51D as the MSN can be tied to the USAAF serial with relative simplicity, it is just an example of how even data from official sources can be a bit ambiguous.
The P-51 is also recorded as a number of types, each with its own identifier in the FAA database download, these were the official type identifiers – so we also have the F-51 hyphenated and not along with the F6A. There can be incorect manufacturer names, one that comes to ming is American Avia INC – where the type is redorded as a “North American P-51B”.
It generally doesn’t matter, it may to the purist but for most plane spotters all there needs to be is a way of differentiating between aircraft of the same type.
There are many examples of this type error scattered throughout official data sources, generally considered too big a task to rectify these things tend to be left as they are – just for ease of keeping relatively accurate records. In my data I have not ammended the serial number just because of the amount of work, what about your data?
Support this site.
It does take some time and effort to create these downloads, also there are a number of costs associated with running the site. So if you can consider supporting this site with a donation it would be helpful, if you find the site useful then why not treat me to a doughnut – or even a doughnut and a coffee if you’re feeling really flush.
But regardless of whether you donate or not, I hope that the contents of the files are of some use, also bear in mind that the files are as dated in the bar graph on the down load page – I will try and produce a new data set every month or more frequently if time allows.
Please note these files are provided for personal use, if you want to use them for any other purpose or if you want to make them available through your own site – get in touch first.