McDonnell Douglas MD-11F

Field marks

1. Three engines — two underwing plus one buried in the tail fin — is unmistakable and shared with no other aircraft flying commercial freight today
2. At a distance or head-on, the tail-mounted third engine can be hard to spot, and the size and wide fuselage can momentarily suggest a 777-200 twin before the third engine or lack of a six-wheel bogie gives it away
3. A center landing gear leg (two wheels) sits on the belly centerline in addition to the two four-wheel main bogies — a DC-10/MD-11 signature no twin- or four-engine widebody shares
4. Upturned winglets and a smaller tailplane than a DC-10 are the fastest way to tell an MD-11 apart from its DC-10 predecessor