tail

A "new tail" is an airframe you have not logged before, and "chasing tails" is collecting registrations rather than photographs. The usage comes from the registration being painted on or near the tail on most aircraft, and from the American habit of calling a registration a tail number.

This term does not auto-link inside captions: "tail" is the aircraft's empennage at least as often as it is shorthand for an airframe, and it is ordinary English besides.

Nearby in Slang

• spotter — Someone who watches, logs or photographs aircraft as a hobby.
• spotting — The hobby of observing, identifying, logging and photographing aircraft.
• tarmac — Popular but imprecise word for the paved areas of an airport; the correct terms are apron, ramp and taxiway.
• the fence — The airport perimeter fence, and by extension the standard spotting position outside it.