The Ford Mustang is a model of car. Yet, it’s not really one model. A part from a Mustang GT may fit into a Mustang V6, or it may not. A part from a 1964 Mustang would almost certainly not fit in a 2012 Mustang, and if it did it would be a horrendous waste of classic carmanship. And yet, parts from separate car models may interchange, as in the blue collar Dodge Caravan and its Yuppie-er brother the Chrysler Town and Country. A car model isn’t a technical designation but a marketing construct.
Planes have models too. 707. F/A-18 “Hornet”. DC-10. 367-80. Yes, the names are less evocative and more numerical, but this fits with the more Aspergian nature of plane enthusiasts. But the same questions come back: where does one model end and another begin? Most cases are clear cut, and hence, boring.
This week on Mad Props, I’m going to show you cases where model numbers were assigned for political and not technical reasons. Where money won out over reason. Minor upgrades that got whole new names, and clean-sheet designs that never got their due. When it comes to plane models, he who pays the piper gets to not only call the tune, but name it too.
Planes have models too. 707. F/A-18 “Hornet”. DC-10. 367-80. Yes, the names are less evocative and more numerical, but this fits with the more Aspergian nature of plane enthusiasts. But the same questions come back: where does one model end and another begin? Most cases are clear cut, and hence, boring.
This week on Mad Props, I’m going to show you cases where model numbers were assigned for political and not technical reasons. Where money won out over reason. Minor upgrades that got whole new names, and clean-sheet designs that never got their due. When it comes to plane models, he who pays the piper gets to not only call the tune, but name it too.
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