Proper Names
Q. This Q&A webpage has been very helpful to me. Thank you for making it publicly available. I have been looking over 8.125 in the fifteenth edition and cannot find reference to airplane names—it covers airplane makes and classes but not names. Would you suggest italicizing airplane names such as “Air Force One” and also italicizing WWII plane names? Thank you for your help.
A. I can see how you might have overlooked this information. Among the examples given in section 8.124 (which is headed “Ships” but deals with the names of “ships and other vessels”), the Spirit of Saint Louis is actually the name of an airplane, but since 8.125 is headed “Aircraft . . . and the Like,” one could be forgiven for not noticing. Put names of specific aircraft in italics. I’ll make a note for the next revision. Thanks for writing.
