It is the same plural in Swedish, one aircraft (ett flygplan) several aircraft (flera flygplan).

But when I think about it, "aircrafts" sound right to me, and that's probably the word I used on English-language forums, but it was many years since I left school  😉

Edited December 20, 20214 yr by Ixoye

8 hours ago, David Mills said:

Because MSFS prominently displays the pseudo-word "Aircrafts" atop its banner display when starting up the program.

And  you have 4 mins to aimlessly surf the web while MSFS fires up, so you notice trivia like this!  🙂

No wait - 2mins if I remembered to turn off data last time used flight sim!

 

20 hours ago, orchestra_nl said:

English is not a logical language

One day , I will explain how French plural works, just be sure to have a notebook close (and some paracetamol).

English like French have been constructed over the ages from many sources, they can’t be logical.

That makes their charm. We have in France reformists who regularly want to simplify   grammar and spelling to make them more logical.  Appaling ...

7 hours ago, ark said:

I have no idea, but maybe in French the plural form is correct. 

Avion/avions

We can also use the familiar word « zinc » (zincs) for an airplane, zinc like the metal. « Le Concorde était un zinc vraiment superbe ! ». Early airplanes were coated with zinc chromate. 

Not to be confused with the top of a bar counter also colloquially called a « zinc » (« on s’prend une p’tite mousse sur le zinc vite fait ? »).

BTW zinc is pronounced zingue not zinc.
 

 

18 minutes ago, Dominique_K said:

English like French have been constructed over the ages from many sources

One thing that has always puzzled me Dominique is the word "ship". Let me explain:

A ship is always referred to as a "she", or the feminine. Yet in French it's masculine as in "Le bateau". I was down in Cannes a couple of years ago and got chatting to a local man and I asked this very question - pourquoi?

He shrugged his shoulders and just said "C'est la Francais". But it still didn't answer the question. Can you do any better?

Also, whilst I'm off-topic I may as well relate my experience in a French cafe regarding a glass of Chardonnay I bought. It was foul, clearly off and full of chemicals. I returned my glass to the barista and complained about it. He made a great play of sniffing it, peering hard into the glass and finally rolling the wine round his tongue and swallowing. I looked at him quizzically (and hopefully for a better glass) when he shrugged his shoulders (what is it about the French shrugging their shoulders) and just said "C'est une Chardonnay".

End of argument!

On 12/19/2021 at 9:49 AM, Gadget FPV said:

What about "Airplanes" or "Aeroplanes".... whats that about?

English (Simplified) vs English (Traditional) 😜 Commonwealth nations use the latter spelling.

Edited December 20, 20214 yr by ckyliu

Aircraft Formation...

1 hour ago, Fizzelle said:

pourquoi?

Ha, ha ! An easy one. French does not have a neuter gender, only masculine and feminine. Masculine is what it is but is also used as the neuter.   

Which doesn't not actually explain anything 😄 . There is no logic here as many words which should be then masculine in its neuter flavor, are feminine. Like les voiles d'un bateau, the sails of a ship. Voile is feminine. Une voile. Un bateau.

 So lets get back to our revered Dictionnaire de l'Académie Française. It says that it is a 12th century word coming from the Anglo-Norman "bat" (cf.boat). It seems that the Old French word batel came from the Anglo-Norman bat itself coming from the Old English bat. Anglo-Norman French was the melting pot  language  of the ruling class coming from Normandy which has ruled GB for centuries with influences both ways, England to Normandy, Normandy to England. 

 So I had a look on a Anglo-Norman dictionary

bat 1 :: Anglo-Norman Dictionary

All the example show that bat was already a masculine word. Interestingly enough the word nyef (nef in modern French, another word for a ship) is already a feminine word.

So in conclusion, I did my best and my final answer is, it is what it is. "C'est le Français", shrugging my shoulders 🤣.

 Now, you will explain me why English makes a "she" of an aircraft and not an "it" 😉

Edited December 20, 20214 yr by Dominique_K

In 'American' plural of "aircraft" is: "Your entire bank account plus both arms and both legs (and possibly your first born)".

Edited December 20, 20214 yr by MDFlier

20 minutes ago, Dominique_K said:

"C'est le Français", shrugging my shoulders

Thank you, most helpful!  🤨 🤣  I'm happy to go to my grave none the wiser!

As to your question regarding the femininity of aircraft, I can do no more than quote this (link also below):

Aircraft, like ships, can evoke a fair amount of affection on the part of the aircrew, or ship's crew.

Until recently, most aircrew (outside of attendants) were male, just as most ship's crew are male. And most men would prefer to personify the subject of their affection as female, not male.

After all, you didn't see beefcake men as ship's figureheads, did you?

https://aviation.stackexchange.com/questions/49230/why-are-airplanes-called-she

Nothing sums up Avsim more than this thread.

38 minutes ago, RICHUK said:

Nothing sums up Avsim more than this thread.

 

In a good way, do you mean?

It's pleasant, with good humour, some genuine interesting conversations, and it's nice to take a break from the trauma of trying to fly properly sometimes!

Edited December 20, 20214 yr by Fizzelle
typo

8 hours ago, Dominique_K said:

One day , I will explain how French plural works, just be sure to have a notebook close (and some paracetamol).

You wouldn't be so cruel, would you?😁

Regarding the ship issue:

In German language, a ship or a boat is neuter. "Das Schiff", "Das Boot" (by the way, again that Anglo-Norman word "bat" seems to play a role here). But despite the word itself being neuter, sailors use the female gender when saying the ship's name, even if the name itself is male or neuter.

Edited December 20, 20214 yr by Belgarath