It's becoming a problem, more so as I get older. I've pulled the plane out of the hangar and taxiied down the ramp to the entrance to the taxiway and realize, too late in some cases, that I'm not flying a Griffon-powered Mark XIV Spitfire. I'm actually at the controls of my GP2180-powered KR-1?. The two planes are so strikingly alike that confusing the two is causing me occasional embarrassment when I'm calling ground or the tower and get as far as "Experimental . . . . . uh, stand by please." I get no further because I don't have a quick way to identify which airplane I'm flying that day. I have the registration numbers memorized of course but figuring out which plane I'm flying is the problem. How do others on the forum handle this dilemma? I'm sure I'm not the only one this happens to. It's easy to get them confused. The props turn the same direction. The airfoils are the same. The airframes are both made of wood and the tails both sit on the ground. Really, unless you're outside and looking at them side by side, how do you tell? You'd think I would be able to hear the difference in engine sound except my Halo headset is so efficient at blocking external sounds I really can't hear anything except the radio. Yes, the N numbers are placarded just in front of me on the panel but I often don't think quickly enough to look. When I'm sitting there in a quandry and the tower is waiting for me to give them more information, if I could remind myself in some quick and foolproof way that I don't actually own a Mark XIV Spitfire, that would at least help. However, in the heat of operations, when I'm under such pressure and stress, I get confused as to whether I do or I don't own a Mark XIV Griffon-powered Spitfire. As we Baby Boomers age, NextGen is arriving just in time. With all communications by automated datalink, aircraft ID will not be dependent upon the pilot remembering which plane he's flying. So that'll be a big relief. Until then though, what little tricks/memnonics/etc. do you guys use to avoid this kind of confusion? Thanks, Mike KSEE
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