Why Is The American Flag Backward On Some Planes?

It's common for airlines to emblazon national flags on aircraft, but there's something you might have noticed about the U.S. flag in that context. On some aircraft, it appears to be displayed the wrong way, star-spangled on the right rather than the left. 

This isn't defiance, but actually an example of deference to the not-technically-enforced U.S. Flag Code. A March 2018 post on X from AirbusInTheUS explains, "U.S. federal regulations state that when our flag is on a vehicle ... the star field must be positioned toward the front of the vessel." Of course, a small flag, complete with tiny pole, isn't the sort of attachment airlines would want to have falling off their aircraft at 30,000 feet, so it's far more practical to have a two-dimensional rendition of it on a plane's body. What such a flag can't do, though, is wave majestically in the wind. This, in effect, is what the flag is doing when it's "backward." It's waving, facing forward.

The American flag also appears to be flying backward on military uniforms, and the logic behind this is similar. This is even the case on spacecraft like Space Shuttle Discovery, which boasts the flag on both sides, facing opposite directions, so that both are "correct."

For road vehicles, a small physical flag is much more practical. That's exactly what the Flag Code suggests, too. A car waving such a flag runs the risk of it detaching, though, which would be terrible form at best — the flag code says the Stars and Stripes shouldn't allowed to fall to the floor – and a danger to other drivers at worst. So it's specified that it ought to be carefully attached to vehicle, with a preference for the right fender. It also shouldn't be spread across the body of a car or other vehicle. 

Aviation and U.S. patriotism combine in some iconic aircraft. One is Air Force One, the presidential plane that has been seen in all manner of presidential livery over the years. Two special Boeing 747-200Bs are used in the role. And a slightly different Boeing, a 737-800, was modified into potentially the most patriotic vehicle of all time: Freedom One (pictured above). Southwest created this Stars-and-Stripes-festooned bird to mark its 50th anniversary in June 2021. It's an imaginative, yet certainly recognizable take on the flag, and one of the most interesting paint jobs a passenger jet ever sported. 

Freedom One's front and nose are lavishly decorated with the U.S. flag's famous blue field of stars, so they're always facing forward. Naturally, though, they're going to be either on the overall design's left or the right, depending where you're seeing the aircraft from.