updated 01-Dec-2024
About rotorspot.nl
abbreviations & symbology
The Rotorspot data records include specific abbreviations and symbology, which may not
be fully self-explanatory.
abbreviations
b/u
cnx
dbf
gtv
i/a
broken up
cancelled
destroyed by fire
ground test vehicle
instruct. airframe
n/b
ntu
prs
wfu
w/o
not built
not taken up
preserved
withdrawn from use
written off
symbology
- row with hatch lines
-
Bell 47 28 N915B cnx - meaning: rotorcraft not active
-
N2Z Bell 47G CD-1 N2Z, N2ZB - meaning: registration/serial not active
- ..??..
- example: ..??.., N599HF
- meaning: registration/serial unknown (if any at all)
- registration/serial in parentheses
- example: (OY-HIP)
- meaning: allocated reservation
- registration/serial in single quotes
- example: 'HB-XRE'
- meaning: unofficial registration/serial
- registration/serial followed by number in brackets
- example: F-AZAC[2]
- meaning: sequence number for registration/serial, including reservations
(when rotorcraft returns to its previous registration/serial and in the meantime that registration/serial has not been used on another aircraft, the sequence number remains unchanged; otherwise, the sequence number is increased accordingly) - registrations/serials separated by forward slash
- examples: (PS-HUH/PS-UHH); PNP-303(OB)/N1236P
- meaning: multiple registrations/serials allocated or used simultaneously
- registrations/serials with the word 'and' in between
- example: F-ZKCC and F-WWOP
- meaning: both registrations/serials valid, but correct order unknown
- registrations/serials with the words 'and/or' in between
- example: TJ-ABB and/or TR-KCX
- meaning: only one, or both registration(s)/serial(s) valid
- registrations/serials with the word 'or' in between
- example: F-WZFA or F-WXFA
- meaning: only one registration/serial valid, but unclear which one
- registration preceded by nationality mark in brackets
- example: [F-]2BCP
- meaning: country to which civil registration belongs
- serial followed by nationality mark or country name in parentheses
- examples: N5032(PT); 2200(Rhodesia)
- meaning: country to which military serial belongs
- serial followed by two nationality marks separated by vertical bar
- example: 85-25430(N|PH)
- meaning: owner's country and operator's country
- rotorcraft type between parentheses and single quotes
- example: ('H125')
- meaning: marketing (= commercial) designation
owner
I graduated as aeronautical engineer from Delft University in Sep-1982. From Feb-1985
until my early retirement in Jul-2021 I was employed at the
Royal Netherlands Aerospace Centre (NLR) in Amsterdam, working on rotorcraft
related topics. Activities ranged from flight performance to flying qualities,
from pre-design to flight testing, from operational support to flight simulations,
from flight safety to teaching drone operators, etc.
My hobby started as being an aircraft spotter. Once the decision had been made to
concentrate on rotorcraft, I started building a civil rotorcraft registrations database.
Eventually this evolved into the worldwide Rotorspot database, containing both civil and
military rotorcraft.
rotorcraft
'Rotorcraft' to this respect means "a heavier-than-air aircraft that depends
principally for its support in flight on the lift generated by one or more
rotors" (EASA aircraft classification). Therefore, the Rotorspot database and
website exclude all aircraft types with lifting propellers. Furthermore, unmanned
rotorcraft below 150 kg are excluded (EASA's initial regulatory framework used this
mass value as a lower limit for unmanned aircraft being subject to EU regulation).
database
The Rotorspot database contains worldwide registration data for civil and military
rotorcraft. The database includes information on registration (civil) or serial
(military), rotorcraft type (the manufacturer being listed as the company that
initially designed it), construction number, registration history (oldest to latest),
and final fate. There is no owner/operator information in the database. The database
is continuously updated with information from various sources (see
credits page).
website
The Rotorspot website publishes data extracted from the database. On this website
one can find current (active) and historical (complete) civil rotorcraft registers
for every country in the world, complete production lists for a growing range of
rotorcraft types, and a searchable rotorcraft database (civil and military). The
main purpose of this website is to provide quick and easy access to rotorcraft
registration data.
Rotorcraft register and production data can be downloaded as comma-separated (CSV)
text files. When loading these files into a spreadsheet, select 'Text' format for
all columns.
From the best of my knowledge, this website's contents do not duplicate anything
publicly available in book form or on other websites. National aircraft registers
or rotorcraft production lists that are published in books and on websites, are in
different formats.
The Rotorspot website uses (a limited amount of) JavaScript and has been tested
for proper displaying in various browsers. All CSS, HTML and PHP coding on the
website has been validated for standards compliance using appropriate tools (see
colophon here below). Although this guarantees a website
without coding format errors, it does not guarantee an error-free appearance in
different browsers. If problems of any kind are encountered, feel free to inform
me, and the issue will be corrected as soon as possible.
disclaimer
The Rotorspot database and website are private initiatives that have no link with
commercial organisations. Rotorspot.nl reserves the right not to accept any liability,
nor to be responsible for the content of external links. All Rotorspot registration data
can be used freely (with due credit to www.rotorspot.nl),
but strictly for non-commercial applications.
colophon
Database and website maintenance : Jos Stevens
Initial release of Rotorspot website : 01-Sep-1999
Official release of www.rotorspot.nl : 01-Jul-2009
technologies
CSS validated by https://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/
HTML validated by https://validator.w3.org/
PHP validated by https://phpcodechecker.com
XML validated by https://www.w3schools.com/xml/xml_validator.asp