Aircraft Types

Overview

`icao` matches the ICAO type designator or the FAA designator exactly (case-insensitive) and returns that one type. Without it, `manufacturer` and `model` are substring matches after stripping punctuation, so `model=737` finds every 737 variant and `manufacturer=deHavilland` finds DE HAVILLAND; `engineType`, `wakeCategory` and `engines` narrow the result, or search on their own (`wakeCategory=super` lists every Super type). Searches are ordered by annual flight-plan operations, so the types you meet most often come first, and `count` reports every match while `limit` (default 10, at most 50) caps `types`.

The figures come from the FAA Aircraft Characteristics Database, which the FAA compiles from manufacturer airport planning manuals and Flight Standardization Board reports for airport design under AC 150/5300-13B. `approachCategory` follows the highest approach speed at maximum landing weight; where the FAA gives two values, `approachSpeedRangeKnots` carries both. `designGroup` combines tail height and wingspan, and `airport.taxiwayDesignGroup` combines main gear width and cockpit to main gear distance. Metric values are converted from the published feet and pounds.

No match returns 404. The ICAO wake category is normalised to Light, Medium, Heavy or Super; a few light-sport types are listed by the FAA as Light/Medium and keep that value. On the Free plan the airport, wake and usage leaves and `remarks` are null.

Live Test Aircraft Types Source →

The tool

Once your client is connected to the VerveContext server, this appears in its tool list as AircraftTypes. It is read-only and open-world — it fetches and never mutates anything on your side — so most clients call it without asking you to confirm.

{
  "name": "AircraftTypes",
  "arguments": {}
}

Connecting

One server URL covers every source in the catalog, including this one. Authorization is OAuth: the client opens a browser once, and there is no key to paste into a config file.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "vervecontext": {
      "url": "https://api.vervecontext.com/v1/mcp"
    }
  }
}

https://api.vervecontext.com/v1/mcp

Per-client setup — Claude, Cursor, VS Code, ChatGPT — is on the MCP setup page.

Arguments

These are the properties on the tool's inputSchema, so a well-behaved client validates them before the call is made. Premium arguments are accepted on every plan but only take effect on plans that include them.

What the model gets back

The result carries a structuredContent object matching the tool's declared outputSchema, so a client reads fields without parsing prose. status is "ok" and error is null on success; a null field means the value was not available for that input, not that the call failed.

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{
  "status": "ok",
  "error": null,
  "data": {
    "count": 1,
    "returned": 1,
    "types": [
      {
        "icaoCode": "B738",
        "faaDesignator": "B738",
        "manufacturer": "BOEING",
        "model": "Boeing 737-800",
        "variant": "Boeing B737-800",
        "aircraftClass": "Fixed-wing",
        "engineType": "Jet",
        "engineCount": 2,
        "wingspanFt": 117.4,
        "wingspanWithoutWingletsFt": 112.6,
        "hasWinglets": true,
        "lengthFt": 129.5,
        "tailHeightFt": 41.4,
        "maxTakeoffWeightLb": 174200,
        "maxLandingWeightLb": 146275,
        "approachSpeedKnots": 144,
        "approachSpeedRangeKnots": {
          "min": 140,
          "max": 144
        },
        "approachCategory": "D",
        "designGroup": "III",
        "icaoWakeCategory": "Medium",
        "faaWeightClass": "Large",
        "metric": {
          "wingspanM": 35.78,
          "lengthM": 39.47,
          "tailHeightM": 12.62,
          "maxTakeoffWeightKg": 79016,
          "maxLandingWeightKg": 66349
        },
        "airport": {
          "taxiwayDesignGroup": "3",
          "wheelbaseFt": 51.2,
          "cockpitToMainGearFt": 56.4,
          "mainGearWidthFt": 23,
          "mainGearConfig": "D",
          "parkingAreaFt2": 16487,
          "parkingAreaM2": 1532,
          "rotorDiameterFt": null
        },
        "wake": {
          "consolidatedCategory": "F",
          "recat15Category": "D",
          "recat2CategoryA": "D",
          "recat2CategoryB": "C",
          "sameRunwaySeparation": "III",
          "lahsoGroup": "8"
        },
        "usage": {
          "usRegistered": true,
          "usRegistrations": 971,
          "annualFlightPlanOperations": 2484764,
          "operationsYear": 2024
        },
        "remarks": "Depending on flaps configuration and MALW, AAC could be C. AAC validated by Flight Standardization Board (FSB) report.",
        "lastUpdated": null
      }
    ]
  }
}

Response fields

Paths are relative to data. Premium fields are absent rather than zeroed on plans that do not include them, so check for presence instead of comparing to 0.

Why ground on it

A model can produce something that looks like this answer from its training data, and be confidently out of date or simply wrong. This source returns the current value in a shape you can check, which is the difference between an answer you can cite and one you have to hedge.

Point an evaluation at count: it is the field most worth pinning a claim to, and it is either present and current or absent — never plausibly invented.

Failure modes

Errors come back as tool errors carrying a sentence the model can act on, not a bare status code. Error handling covers the full list.

A call costs 1 credit each time the tool actually runs; a model that reasons about the tool without calling it costs nothing.

Use cases

Airport Planning

Check whether an aircraft type fits a gate, taxiway or hangar from its wingspan, length, tail height, design group and taxiway design group.

Flight Tracking Apps

Show the aircraft behind an ADS-B type code with its manufacturer, model, size and wake category.

Aviation Training

Look up approach speeds and categories, wake turbulence classes and separation categories for study material and simulators.

Operations and Fees

Price landing or parking fees by maximum takeoff weight and parking area, and group fleets by weight class.

Other ways to use Aircraft Types

Set up Aircraft Types on VerveContext, or reach the same source a different way. Your VerveContext account and credits work on all of them — one key, one balance.

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