Identify by airplane characteristics

The PA-48 is a fully modernised version of the P-51 Mustang. Unlike its predecessor it has a turboprop engine with a large exhaust in the left front fuselage, tip tanks and lots of pylons under the wings.

With its stubby appearance and inward retracting three-strut main landing gear the Polikarpov I-16 is already remarkable. Even more typical is the big radial piston engine that is completely enclosed and only has holes in the front plate for letting cooling air in.

This home-built aircraft looks somewhat like a mix between a Stinson Voyager and a Bellanca Decathon. As far as we know only one was built and that is operated on floats. The tick wings with fences near the strut attachment points and the three blade prop maybe what you need to look at to recognise the Punkari Condor.

The PZL I-22 Iryda and Alpha Jet both have high, swept wings, semi-circular air intakes and space between the wings and the nacelles. The differences between them are more subtle: looking at the shape of the air intakes is the most obvious way of keeping them apart.

The most unusual combination of a jet engine on top of the fuselage, underneath the upper wings, and a double T-tail on tail booms, makes the PZL M15 easy to recognise. Additionally, the M15 has two columns between upper and lower wings, which house tanks wing chemicals: the main task was crop dusting. 

The Polish Iskra jet trainer has two rectangular air intakes in front of the wings, just below the roots, leading to a single jet engine in the middle of the fuselage. The exhaust is under the fuselage, well before the cruciform tail.

In between the many high performance (turbo)prop training aircraft the PZL130 stands out due to its small size. The vertical stabiliser starts almost directly behind the tandem canopy. This fin has a curved leading edge on most versions, extending all the way to the trailing edge.

Under supervision of NASA a DHC-5 Buffalo was modified as Quiet Short-Haul Research Aircraft (QSRA). It has four jet engines on top of the wings, but for the rest it still resembles a Buffalo, including the long main landing attached to the wings. (photo NASA/WikiMedia)

Having a stand-up cabin in a light business jet means that the aircraft has a “fat” appearance. Moreover, the Premier has a long nose and comparatively small engines. Also the blunt, CRJ like tailcone is a clear recognition point.

The Hawker 4000 looks very much like the Cessna 700 Citation Longitude and the Embraer Legacy 450/500. Compared to both aircraft the Hawker 4000 has no winglets, but has large external fairings for the thrust reversers. The four cockpit windows are clearly derived from the BAe125 Series 800/1000.