these figures very ALOT. it depends if the air is clear, the background, person's eye sight, and if searching or concentraiting in a spot.
but from RL experience, jet fighter pilots can (on a clear day with sky in background) spot other fighter up to 7-8 nmiles (nmile=1.8km), but they have a radar mark on the HUD that helps them. on the other hand, they can pass really close to each other without seeing.
identifying plane type distance very even more. just for some refrence, spotting if a fighter has two tail or one can be done from about 3 nmiles. for real id you work by ruling out options. if you see a two tail plane like the p-38 and you know there are no other planes like that it can be done from really afar. i guess to tell the difference betwin a p51 and 109 from top view would be much much less (read on the net a story about a p-47 pilot who shot a p-51 thinking it was a 109, and he was close).
markings are sometime easier to id than plane type.
to read the planes ID letters on todays civilian planes you need to be under 1 nmile away. color (light/dark) can be told from about 3 miles. from far away all planes look dark even if they are painted white.
Bozon
