Recognising airliners (WEFT)
⏱ 12 min
Spotters use WEFT: Wings, Engines, Fuselage, Tail.
- Wings — position, sweep, winglets (blended, split scimitar, raked wingtips).
- Engines — how many, where (under the wings or at the rear), propellers or jets.
- Fuselage — length, nose shape, one or two decks (A380 and the front of the 747 have two), window pattern.
- Tail — conventional or T-tail, fin shape.
| Clue | Example |
|---|---|
| 4 engines, full double deck | Airbus A380 |
| 4 engines, hump only at the front | Boeing 747 |
| 2 engines, very large, six-wheel main bogies | Boeing 777 |
| Narrow-body, rounded nose, Sharklets | Airbus A320 family (common in Malaysia) |
| Narrow-body, split-scimitar or AT winglets, pointed tail cone | Boeing 737 |
| High wing, two turboprops, T-tail | ATR 72 (MASwings, Firefly) |
Use the live air traffic map to spot aircraft over Malaysia and check the type shown for each flight.