Here you go. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft_registration

In Canada it is "C-" Which is either followed by an "F" or a "G". Some airplanes, older airplanes, will still have the "CF-" designation on them, but most these days just have "C-F..." or "C-G..."

Fozzer wrote on May 25^th, 2010 at 10:55am:

I believe it was originally a natural progression. In 1919 (when Britain still had an Empire) the British Empire was allotted the letter G followed by by a dash and 4 more letters. The first letters after the dash identified the country. Great Britain was allotted G-E*** (for powered fixed wing types) & G-F*** (balloons & airships), Australia G-AU**, Canada G-CA** & New Zealand G-NZ**.
Then in 1928 the Dominions got  their own letters & the British ones started all over again at G-AAAA. Registrations were allocated strictly in alphabetical order so when they reached G-AZZZ they carried on with G-BAAA. With a couple of exceptions out-of-sequence registrations were not permitted until 1974 when owners could choose their own personal letters (like G-DOUG) if available.

G-AAAA was a DH.60G Gipsy Moth owned by Sir Geoffrey de Havilland.
G-AZZZ is a DH.82A Tiger Moth owned by the secretary of the de Havilland Moth Club.

Quote:

G-BPLF was allocated to a hot-air balloon in 1989 & cancelled in 2001. British registration letters cannot be re-allocated.

DaveSims wrote on May 25^th, 2010 at 4:44pm:

Well, we haven't run out yet & unlike the US N numbers UK registrations cannot be re-issued. I think it goes to prove that there are far more civil aircraft in the USA than other countries.

I'm no mathematician & have no idea of the number of possible permutations in a 4-letter registration.  Perhaps some clever clogs can work it out. (The letter Q is not used in UK registrations.)

Hagar wrote on May 25^th, 2010 at 4:54pm:


There are approximately 1,679,616 combinations that can be used in 4 unit registrations with 26 letters and 10 numbers, including Q. There are 1,500,625 without Q.

Sorry, my genious is showing 

=EDIT=
In a standard 5 unit registration excluding "N" there are only 658,008. wierd huh? 

I believe the correct word is "Genius". While "Genious" seems to be used by more and more people, it has no dictionary entry, and also appears as a misspelled word on the forum's spell check.

As for the "CF-..." thing, I didn't know that about the Beaver, but then again, it was around long before my parents were even thought of, haha. I do know that many older aircraft bare a similar insignia to that, like CF-TCC, which is a Lockheed 10A Electra once used for Trans-Canada Airlines, as well as one of Buffalo Airways' Douglas C-54 Skymaster's (CF-BAA) and their Norseman (CF-SAN). Those are the only three I know, but I'm sure there are hundreds registered across Canada, each with a unique story.

Well that's a pretty neat website. It says that CF-TCC was sold to the U.S. though, :0( that's unfortunate. I got to see it once last summer as it was making it's way across the country (of Canada) from its home (in Winnepeg, Manitoba... I think) to Baddeck, Nova Scotia to celebrate the centennial year of powered flight in Canada.