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backwards flag on air force 2!


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gday,

we have two us air force jets, im pretty sure its air force 2 & 3, at richmond RAAF base for the APEC summit.

air force 3 (the little 767 i think it is) has the flag on the tail round the right way, but the 747 has it backwards!

what is the purpose of this?

by backwards i mean the flag has the stars in the top right hand corner instead of the left.

any help would be great as it confused me and alot of my mates. was it really a drunk painter? :coolio:

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The starfield on the US flag is always toward the front of a vehicle. As if it were mounted on a flagpole and blowing in the slipstream. I'll bet if you examine both aircraft, you'll find it consistent on both airframes.

The "reversed" flag is also used if worn as a patch on the right shoulder of a uniform.

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If its on the right side of the jet, its supposed to be that way. The blue field should fly INTO the wind, as if the flag were flying freely.

In other words, the flue field always goes towards the front of the jet, regardless of which corner this places the blue field on.

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If you are looking at the right hand (starboard), side of an airplane or any other vehicle, the flag is supposed to have the field on the right. This so the flag is moving forward, not backward when the vehicle is in motion. Think of a flag in a parade that is moving from your left to your right. As you look at the flag, the blue field is to the flag's right.

Darwin

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Every commercial aircraft with a US flag on it has the stars closest to the nose regardless of what side it is on. It is common practice. It is even done this way on space shuttles as well.

JMCatlantis5.jpg

Look close at the tiny flag on the tail of the 747 carrier aircraft and you will note it is also oriented this way.

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Doesn't it also mean that "whatever (in this case, a plane)" the flag is on, is always moving forward progressively?

Nope. It means that the flag is. The flag should never be represented as moving backward.

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This rule doesn't apply to the Canadian flag or Union Jack flag. :yahoo:
Just don't fly the Canadian flag upside down!

Same with the Japanese flag, but you could probably fly that one upside-down. Who'd know? :cheers:

Edited by David Walker
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