Why do I blur N Numbers on Airplanes?

We all know I blur all the tail numbers I can. I always blur the registrations on photos, and I try to frame videos to not contain the tail numbers, but why do I do that?

While some people may consider tail numbers public property, I fully believe in protecting privacy of people I don’t know. I wouldn’t want someone to post the license plate of my car, it essentially tags someone’s current location. However, there are some rare instances I publish the tail numbers, primarily when they’re cool, just like when people have witty vanity plates on their car. I feel like if you have a vanity plate on a car, you don’t mind people taking pictures of it.

Here’s some cool tail numbers I’ve seen over the years.

I saw this Falcon on the ramp a few months ago. I’ve never seen the country code “2-” before, so when I looked it up and read that it’s the registration code for a country called Guernsey, which turned into a geography lesson about the English Channel Island. I wonder what someone was doing in Albuquerque that far from home.

Sometimes the n numbers make you feel like the owner likes to see the pilot struggle to read back clearances with the tail number; funny little jokesters.

I heard the pilots on ABQ APP one evening coming home from work and the pilots handled the tail number smoothly. I would’ve struggled over reading that back. Approach did double check they got it correct.

Sometimes the numbers are witty. This one made me giggle. What plane isn’t needy?

I saw this Lear one morning on the ramp, a Medivac from Mexico.

Have you seen interesting or witty tail numbers? Tweet them my way and I will add to the collection!

Here’s some fun tail numbers spotted in the wild that you all sent in!