The first V8 engine used in a road-going car was the 1905
Rolls-Royce built in the United Kingdom. This model was initially equipped with a V8 engine. However, only three cars were made before
Rolls-Royce reverted to using straight-six engines for their cars. The engine was designed and built by Edward R. Hewitt who emphasized the V8's superiority to the typical
I4 and
I6 and six-cylinder engines of the time because of its lower weight and easier to make crankshaft compared to the I6s of equal power as well as the V8 not taking much more space than a I4. The 1910
De Dion-Bouton— built in France— is considered to be the first V8 engine produced in significant quantities. The 1914
Cadillac L-head V8 engine is considered the first road-going V8 engine to be mass-produced in significant quantities, with 13,000 sold the first year. This engine was built in the United States and was greatly assisted by Cadillac's pioneering use of
electric starter motors. The popularity of V8 engines in cars was significantly increased following the 1932 introduction of the
Ford Flathead V8. By the early 21st century, the use of V8 engines in passenger vehicles declined as automobile manufacturers opted for more
fuel efficient, lower capacity engines, or
hybrid and
electric drivetrains.
Size, layout, and classification The displacement of modern V8 engines is typically from . However, size of production engines varies widely - for example the
BMW M502 V8 introduced in the 1954
BMW 502 displaced only , while the 1971-1978
Cadillac Eldorado was powered by an motor. V8 engines intended for motorsport are often small and short-stroke to maximize RPMs and thus power. The
Cosworth DFV is an example. Due to its large external dimensions, V8 engines are typically used in cars that use a
longitudinal engine layout and rear-wheel drive (or all-wheel drive). However, V8 engines have also occasionally been used in
transverse engine front-wheel drive vehicles, sometimes using closer cylinder bore spacings and narrower cylinder bank angles to reduce their space requirements. The classification of 'big-block' or 'small-block' refers to the engine's external dimensions and does not necessarily indicate the actual engine displacement. Engines with displacements from have been classified as both small-block and big-block, depending on the particular manufacturer's range of engines.
Motorsport Formula One engine Formula One engine V8 engines have been used in many forms of motorsport, from
Formula One,
IndyCar,
NASCAR,
DTM and
V8 Supercars circuit racing, to
Top Fuel drag racing.
Among the first V8 Formula One cars to compete were the 1952
AFM entry and the 1954
Lancia D50, with a development of the latter powering
Juan Manuel Fangio's 1956 car to victory in the
Drivers' Championship. The 1.5 L Formula One era of 1961–1965 included V8 engines from Ferrari, Coventry Climax, British Racing Motors (BRM), and Automobili Turismo e Sport (ATS). The driver's championships for the
1962,
1963,
1964, and
1965 seasons were won by drivers of V8-powered cars. From 1962 through 1965, the top three manufacturers in each season's Constructor's Championship all predominantly used V8 engines in their cars. In 1966, the engine capacity limits were increased to (or 1.5 litres with a supercharger), and both the 1966 and 1967 Constructor's Championships were won by cars powered by the
Repco-Brabham V8 engine. From 1968 until 1981, the
Cosworth DFV V8 engine dominated Formula One racing. During this time, the Manufacturers' Championship was won by Cosworth DFV-powered cars every season except 1975, 1976, 1977, and 1979, which were won by 12-cylinder Ferraris. After a long period of dominance, the Cosworth DFV was eventually outpaced by turbocharged straight-four and V6 engines. The next period of significant V8 usage in Formula One was from
2006 to
2013, when the rules mandated use of naturally-aspirated V8 engines, with regular power outputs between 730 and 810 hp (in order to reduce the power outputs being achieved by the previous 3.0 litre V10 engines). These were replaced by 1.6 litre turbocharged V6 engines for the 2014 and later seasons.
V8 engines have dominated American premier stock car racing
NASCAR series since its inaugural
1949 season. However, there wasn't a strict ruleset to follow until the 1972 season, when engines were no longer allowed to be any bigger than for the purpose of reducing speeds caused by the rapid aerodynamic advancements from 1969 to 1971.
In the American
Top Fuel class of drag racing, V8 engines displacing today produce outputs of over . and . The engines used in Top Fuel and
Funny car drag racing are typically based on the aluminium-conversion
Chrysler 426 Hemi engine and run on highly explosive
nitromethane fuel.
The world's fastest non-jet-powered (i.e., piston-engine powered) wheeled land vehicle, the
Speed Demon, which achieved a speed of in 2017, is powered by a V8 engine based on the
Chevrolet small-block engine design.
Automobile use by country Australia engine ("Boss") engine The first Australian-designed car to use a V8 engine was the 1965
Chrysler Valiant (AP6), which was available with an American-built Chrysler engine. The first locally designed V8 Ford was the 1966
Ford Falcon (XR) and the first V8 Holden was the 1968
Holden HK, both using engines supplied by their parent companies in the United States. The first V8 engine to be mass-produced in Australia was the 1969–2000
Holden V8 engine. This cast-iron overhead valve engine used a V-angle of 90 degrees and was built in displacements of and , the latter being de-stroked to in 1985. The
Holden V8 engine was used in various models, including the Kingswood, Monaro, Torana, Commodore, and Statesman. Versions tuned for higher performance were sold by
Holden Dealer Team and
Holden Special Vehicles, including versions stroked to up to . The Holden V8 engine was also used in
touring car racing and formed the basis of the Repco-Holden engine used in
Formula 5000 racing. In 1999, the Holden V8 engine began to be replaced by the imported
General Motors LS1 V8 engine. In 1971, Ford Australia began local production of the
Ford 'Cleveland' V8, an overhead valve cast-iron engine. The engine was produced in displacements of and for use in the
Australian Ford Falcon and
Ford Fairlane models. It was also used in several low-volume
DeTomaso sports cars and luxury sedans built in Italy. Australian production ceased in 1982 when
Ford Australia temporarily stopped production of V8 cars. From 1991 until 2016, the
Ford Falcon was available with the imported
Ford Windsor,
Ford Barra, or
Ford Modular V8 engines; the latter was marketed as "Boss" and locally assembled from a mix of imported and local parts. A version of the
Rover V8 engine was produced in Australia for the ill-fated 1973–1975
Leyland P76 sedan. The engine had an overhead valve design and was the only all-aluminum engine made in Australia.
China The 1958–1965
Hongqi CA72 was a luxury car, of which approximately 200 were built for government officials. It was powered by a
Chrysler LA engine and built on the chassis of a 1950s Chrysler Imperial.
Czech Republic engine The 1934–1938
Tatra 77 rear-engined sedan was initially powered by petrol V8, which was air-cooled and used an overhead camshaft that operated the valves using a 'walking beam' rocker arrangement. This model line continued until 1999 when the
Tatra 700 ended production.
Tatra also produced diesel V8 truck engines from the 1939
Tatra 81 to the present day
Tatra 815.
France French manufacturers were pioneering in their use of V8 engines in the early 1900s with the 1904
Antoinette aircraft engine (the first known V8 engine) and the 1910
De Dion-Bouton. However, there were few French automotive V8 engines in the following decades, with manufacturers such as
Delage,
Delahaye,
Talbot-Lago,
Bugatti, and Hotchkiss using six-cylinder or straight-eight engines instead. From 1935 until 1954,
Matford (Ford's French subsidiary, later renamed to '
Ford SAF') produced cars with V8 engines, closely based on contemporary American Ford models.
Simca purchased the Ford SAF in 1954 and continued to produce various models powered by the
Ford Flathead V8 until 1969. After WW2, France imposed very steep
tax horsepower charges - the owners of cars with engines above 2 L were financially penalized, so France had a small domestic market for larger-engined cars, such as the V8.
Germany engine One of the first German V8 engines was the 1928–1945
Argus As 10 aircraft engine. This engine was air-cooled, used an 'inverted V' design, and was used in several training, surveillance, and communications airplanes. From 1933 until 1940, the
Horch 830 luxury cars were powered by V8 engines (sold alongside Horch's larger straight-eight engines). Shortly after, the 1934–1937
Stoewer Greif V8 was powered by a V8 engine. BMW's first V8 engine was the 1954–1965
BMW OHV V8 engine, a petrol engine with overhead valves and all-aluminum construction. The company resumed production of V8 engines in 1992 with the
BMW M60 aluminum double overhead camshaft engine, and V8 engines have remained in production until today.
BMW's first turbocharged V8 engine was the 1998–2009
M67 twin-turbocharged diesel engine. The first turbocharged V8 petrol engine from
BMW was the 2008–present
BMW N63 engine. Their first eight-cylinder engine since passenger car and motorsport straight-eight engine production stopped in 1944 and 1955 respectively,
Mercedes-Benz began production of the
Mercedes-Benz M100 petrol V8 engine in 1963 and has continued production of V8 engines to the present day. The M100 had a single overhead camshaft, a cast-iron block, and an aluminium head. Supercharging was first used on the
Mercedes-Benz M113 engine in 2002 and turbocharging was first used on non-commercial diesel V8 engines in 1999 with the
OM628 and on petrol engines with the
M278 engine in 2010. Porsche's first road car to use a V8 engine was the 1978
Porsche 928 coupe. Its first to use a V8 diesel engine was the
second-generation Cayenne S Diesel in 2014. Audi's first road car to use a V8 engine was the 1988
Audi V8 luxury sedan. Its first model to use a V8 diesel engine was the
D2 A8 3.3 TDI in 2000.
Italy The first V8-engined
Alfa Romeo road car was the 1967–1969
Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale mid-engined sports car, of which 18 were produced. This was followed by the 1970–1977
Alfa Romeo Montreal front-engined sports car. The engines for both cars are based on the 90-degree V8 engine from the
Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 racing car, and have double overhead camshafts and a dry sump. The
33 Stradale engine has a displacement of and a flat-plane crankshaft, while the Montreal uses an engine enlarged to and uses a cross-plane crankshaft. The 2007–2010
Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione / Spider sports cars are powered by a version of the
Ferrari F136 engine with a cross-plane crankshaft.
engine Ferrari's first contact with V8 engines was the
Vittorio Jano-designed 1955
Lancia-Ferrari D50, a Formula One racing car that the company acquired as part of its purchase of Lancia's Formula One racing department. The first Ferrari-developed V8 engines were used in the 1962
Ferrari 248 SP and
Ferrari 268 SP sports prototype racing cars designed by
Carlo Chiti. This engine had a single overhead camshaft and was rear-mounted in the vehicles. The company's first V8 road car was the 1973–1974
Dino 308 GT4 mid-engined sports car. The engine is a 90-degree all-aluminum V8 with double overhead camshafts. In 1975, the engine in the
Ferrari 208 GT4 became the smallest production V8 engine ever produced. The model lineage of mid-engined V8 road cars continued until the end of production of the 2019–2023
Ferrari F8 Tributo. Five-valve-per-cylinder versions were used from 1994 until 2005 in the
Ferrari F355 and
Ferrari 360. Turbocharging was introduced on the 1984–1987
Ferrari 288 GTO flagship car, and the range of entry-level mid-engined sports cars switched to turbocharging with the 2015
Ferrari 488. The Formula One team resumed using V8 engines for the 2006–2013 seasons, beginning with the
Ferrari 248 F1.
engine The first Maserati V8 road car was the 1959–1965
Maserati 5000 GT luxury coupe, of which only 34 cars were produced. The 5000 GT used a overhead camshaft engine derived from the
Maserati 450S racing car. Developments of this engine were used in the 1963–1969
Maserati Quattroporte I luxury sedan, the 1967–1973
Maserati Ghibli, the 1971–1978
Maserati Bora 2-seat coupe, and several other models. The 1990–1996
Maserati Shamal 2+2 coupe introduced a turbocharged V8 engine based on the existing
Maserati Biturbo V6. This engine was later replaced by the naturally aspirated
Ferrari F136 V8 engine, beginning with the 2001
Maserati Coupé / Spyder.
During the 1920s and 1930s, Lancia produced a line of range-topping luxury cars powered by V8 engines: the 1922–1925
Lancia Trikappa, the 1928–1935
Lancia Dilambda, and the 1931–1939
Lancia Astura. The engines ranged in displacement from and used unusually narrow V-angles of 14 to 24 degrees with a single overhead camshaft. In the 1980s, an engine derived from Ferrari's V8 engine was transverse-mounted in the
Lancia Thema 8.32. The only Fiat car to use a V8 engine was the
Fiat 8V, of which approximately 100 were produced 1952–1954. The pushrod engine used an all-aluminium construction and an unusual V-angle of 70 degrees. Fiat also began production of V8 diesel truck engines for the 1975
Des-8280, initially in the naturally aspirated form before switching to turbocharging in the mid-1980s. Lamborghini's V8 powered models are the 1972–1979
Lamborghini Urraco 2+2 coupe, 1976–1979
Lamborghini Silhouette 2-seat convertible, and 1981–1988
Lamborghini Jalpa 2-seat convertible. The 2018–present
Lamborghini Urus SUV uses a Volkswagen Group turbocharged V8 engine.
Japan engine engine Japanese manufacturers have not been significant producers of V8 engines for passenger cars due to
Japanese government road tax regulations that impose higher charges for engines that exceed . However, several passenger cars have been produced with V8 engines for consumers and for use in motor racing.
Honda has never produced V8 engines for passenger vehicles, although they did experiment with a
CVCC V8 sportscar project until it was cancelled as a result of the 1973 Fuel Crisis. In the late 1990s, the company resisted considerable pressure from its American dealers for a V8 engine, with
American Honda reportedly sending one dealer a shipment of
"V8" vegetable juice to silence them. The only
Honda car sold with a V8 engine was the 1993–1998
Honda Crossroad SUV, which was a rebadged
Land Rover Discovery Series I fitted with the Rover V8 engine. In motor racing, the
Honda Indy V8 was produced for the 2003–2011 IndyCar racing series and was the control engine for the 2006 through 2011 seasons. The engine was a all-aluminium V8 with double-overhead camshafts, with a power output of and a 10,500 rpm redline. The 2006–2008
Honda Racing F1 Team used 2.4 L V8 engines, which produced around at 19,000 rpm, as mandated by
Formula One regulations.
From 1999 to 2000,
Mitsubishi briefly sold the
Mitsubishi 8A8 engine, which was a all-aluminium V8 engine with double overhead camshafts and direct injection. The engine was fitted to the Mitsubishi Proudia luxury sedan and Mitsubishi Dignity limousine; however, financial pressures forced the company to discontinue sales of both these vehicles after only fifteen months.
The 1965–1989
Nissan Y engine is Nissan's first V8 engine, which uses a pushrod design and had a displacement of . Its primary use was in the Nissan President limousine. The Y engine was replaced by the 1989–2001
Nissan VH engine, which is an all-aluminum construction with double overhead camshafts and displacements of . This was replaced by the
Nissan VK engine in 2002, which remains in production today. The VK engine is an all-aluminium construction with double overhead camshafts and displacements of .
The first mass-produced Japanese V8 engine was the
Toyota V engine, introduced in the 1964 Toyota Crown Eight luxury car. The Toyota V engine was an all-aluminum construction, used a pushrod valvetrain, and was produced until 1997. The
Toyota UZ engine has double overhead camshafts and was made from 1989 until 2013, while the
Toyota UR engine added direct injection and has been in production since 2006. From 2006 to 2009, the
Toyota Racing Formula One team cars were powered by naturally-aspirated V8 engines, as mandated by the Formula One rules. These Toyota engines were rated to produce at 19,000 rpm ( at 18,000 rpm for 2009) and were also used by the
Williams, Midland, and
Jordan teams.
Korea Hyundai's first passenger car V8 engine was the 1999–2009
Hyundai Omega engine, which was based on the Mitsubishi 8A8 engine (see above). The Omega engine was replaced by the
Hyundai Tau engine, which is an all-aluminium construction with double overhead camshafts and has been produced from 2008 to the present.
Sweden Volvo developed the
B36 V8 engine in 1952, which was intended to be used in the planned
Volvo Philip car. The project was canceled, but the engine has been used in trucks since 1956. In partnership with Yamaha Motor Company, Volvo developed the 4.4 litre
Volvo B8444S engine. It was offered in the
Volvo XC90 starting in 2005 and the
Volvo S80 starting in 2006. When
Ford Motor Company sold
Volvo Cars to
Geely Holding Group, the use of the engine was discontinued in favour of one line of
i4 engines for all its models. Koenigsegg initially used twin-supercharged versions of the Ford Modular V8 engine in its 2002–2004
Koenigsegg CC8S and 2004–2006
Koenigsegg CCR. The company switched to a new twin-supercharged engine they developed for the 2006–2010
Koenigsegg CCX. An updated version of their own V8 was introduced in the 2011
Koenigsegg Agera and has been used on all models since then.
Soviet Union and Russian Federation engine The 1958–1967
ZIL-111 limousine was among the first Soviet cars powered by a V8 engine. The engine was an all-aluminium construction with a pushrod valvetrain. Production of ZIL limousines powered by V8 engines continued until the ZIL-41047 was discontinued in 2002. The 1959–1988
GAZ Chaika was powered by a V8 engine with an all-aluminium construction and a pushrod valvetrain. This engine was also used in several limited-edition models for the
KGB. Diesel engines of the V8 configuration are currently produced by the
Yaroslavl Motor Plant,
KamAZ.
Sollers produces petrol engines for
Aurus cars.
United Kingdom The 1969–1972
Aston Martin DBS V8 coupe/convertible was Aston Martin's first V8 model. This engine was an all-aluminium construction with double overhead camshafts and was used in several models until 2000, when the
Virage model was discontinued. Production of V8-engined Aston Martin cars resumed in 2005 with a new generation of the Vantage, powered by the
Jaguar AJ-V8 naturally aspirated V8 engine. Since 2016, Aston Martin has switched to the
Mercedes-Benz M177 turbocharged V8 engine, beginning with the DB11 model.
Every McLaren road car since the brand's 2010 relaunch has been powered by the
McLaren M838T twin-turbocharged V8 engine, which was introduced in the McLaren 12C (then called the 'MP4-12C') coupe. This engine is an all-aluminium construction with double overhead camshafts and a flat-plane crankshaft.
The first V8 engine produced in the United Kingdom was fitted to the 1905
Rolls-Royce, of which three cars were made. This engine used a
side valve design, a V-angle of 90 degrees, and had a displacement of . Mass-production of V8 engines began in 1959 with the release of the
Rolls-Royce–Bentley L-series V8 engine in the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II, the Rolls-Royce Phantom IV, and the Bentley S2. This engine is an all-aluminium construction with a pushrod valvetrain and a V-angle of 90 degrees. It has been produced in displacements of , with a twin-turbocharged version introduced in 1985. The L-series V8 engine remains in production in the
Bentley Mulsanne luxury sedan.
Rover began production of automotive V8 engines in 1967 with the
Rover V8 engine. This engine used the design and tooling of the
Buick V8 engine purchased from General Motors. The Rover V8 is an all-aluminium construction with a pushrod valvetrain, displacements of and a V-angle of 90 degrees. Rover, Land Rover, and MG used it in various automobiles. Production continued until 2006, when it was largely replaced by the
Jaguar AJ-V8 engine.
The
Daimler V8 engine was introduced in the 1959 Daimler SP250 sports car and was produced until 1969. This engine has an iron block, an alloy cylinder head, and a pushrod drivetrain that was built in displacements of . The
Jaguar AJ-V8 engine— Jaguar's first V8 engine for road cars— has been in production since 1996. This engine is an all-aluminium construction with double overhead camshafts. It has been produced in both naturally aspirated and supercharged configurations. Land Rovers have used a variety of V8 engines since 1970 in Discovery and Range Rover marques. For petrol engines, they featured the
Rover V8 engine from 1970 to 2004, the
BMW M62 from 2002 to 2005 in Range Rover only, the
Jaguar AJ-V8 engine (in both naturally aspirated and supercharged versions) from 2005 to now, and the
BMW N63 and S63 twin-turbo V8s starting in 2022. For diesel engines, they used the
Ford AJD-V6/PSA DT17 (3.6 TDV8) from 2006 to 2009, and have continued with the
Ford 4.4 Turbo Diesel (TDV8/SDV8) from 2010 to 2022. The 1970–1977
Triumph V8 was used solely for the Triumph Stag coupe. This engine had a cast-iron block, an aluminium cylinder head, single overhead camshafts, and a displacement of . The 1996–2003
TVR Speed Eight engine was used in the Cerbera road cars and the Tuscan Challenge racing cars. This engine had an all-aluminium construction, single overhead camshafts, a flat-plane crankshaft, and an unusual V-angle of 75 degrees.
United States The first automotive V8 engine to reach production was the 1914–1935
Cadillac L-Head engine introduced in the Type 51 model. The L-head had an alloy crankcase, a single iron casting for each cylinder block and head, side valves, a flat-plane crankshaft and a displacement of . An electric
starter motor was used, eliminating the large engines being difficult to start with hand-cranking. The Cadillac engine was followed by a V8 model from
Peerless (using an engine manufactured by an amusement park manufacturer) in 1915. The first American V8 production engine with
overhead valves (a 'pushrod' engine) was used by the 1917
Chevrolet Series D. This engine used a counterweighted crankshaft, a detachable crossflow cylinder head, and had a displacement of . Production of the Series D models ended in 1918. The 1924
Cadillac Type V-63 was powered by the first American V8 to use a cross-plane crankshaft, which reduced vibrations. A year later, Peerless also introduced a cross-plane crankshaft V8. Other manufacturers producing V8 engines by the mid-1920s included Lincoln, Ferro, Northway (supplier to Cadillac), Cole (Indianapolis and Mississippi), Perkins (Detroit), Murray, Vernon, and Yale. A significant development in providing V8 engines in more affordable cars was the 1932 through 1954
Ford Flathead V8. The Flathead V8 reduced production costs by using a
monobloc (or "en bloc") construction, where each cylinder bank is made from a single piece of cast metal. The engine was fitted to the low-cost
Ford Model 18 car, offering superior performance to its competitors. Demand for larger cars increased in the years following World War II, and the wider bodies were well suited to the fitment of V8 engines. This led to many manufacturers introducing overhead valve V8 engines, such as the 1949–1964
Oldsmobile Rocket engine, the 1949–1962
Cadillac 331 engine, the 1951–1958
Chrysler Firepower engine, the
Studebaker's 1952 V8 engine, the 1953–1966
Buick Nailhead engine, the 1954–2002
Chevrolet small-block engine, the 1954–1963
Lincoln Y-block V8 engine, the 1955–1981
Pontiac V8 engine, and the 1956–1967
AMC Rambler engine. Engine displacements grew with the expanding size of
full-size cars through the 1950s to mid-1970s. This led to 'big-block' engines such as: •
Lincoln Y-block engine released in 1955 for the 1956 model year •
Pontiac Super Duty engine released in 1960 for the 1961 model year •
Chrysler Hemi engine released in 1964 for the 1965 model year •
Ford FE engine released in 1965 for the 1966 model year •
Chevrolet big-block engine released in 1969 for the 1970 model year. Big-block engines reached their zenith with the
Cadillac 500 engine used in the 1970 Cadillac Eldorado coupe. During the 1970s, due to the
oil crises and the gradual tightening of emission standards, big-block V8s were affected. As a result, their use in passenger cars decreased as manufacturers began to phase them out for more efficient designs. Before the late 1970s, sharing engines between General Motors' divisions was uncommon. This enabled each division to have its unique engine character but made for much duplication of effort. The company has since implemented the sharing of engines across divisions; however, some divisions (such as Cadillac) still maintain some engines specific to their division. Ford and Chrysler had fewer divisions and favored brand-specific shared designs. In the United States, eight-cylinder gasoline engines dominated the market before 1980, accounting for a majority of new vehicle production in the mid- to late 1970s. As fuel prices rose, their share declined sharply, falling to roughly one-quarter of sales as manufacturers shifted toward smaller, more
fuel-efficient four- and six-cylinder engines. A further decline occurred after 2005, as part of a broader industry shift toward smaller,
turbocharged engines to meet
fuel economy and
emission standards. In 2011, GM built its 100-millionth unit of the
Chevrolet small-block engine, making that engine family the most produced V8 engine in the world. American manufacturers continue to produce large displacement V8 engines, despite the strategy of downsizing engines (often in conjunction with turbocharging) being adopted by many European and Asian manufacturers. These engines continued to use pushrod (overhead valve) valvetrains long after most overseas engines had switched to dual overhead camshaft designs. Examples include the
Chrysler Apache engine produced from 2011–present, the
Ford Godzilla engine produced from 2020–present, and the
GM L8T engine produced from 2020–present. American manufacturers have concurrently produced more modern DOHC engines, such as the
Chevrolet Gemini small-block engine, Cadillac's turbocharged
Cadillac Blackwing V8, and the
Ford Modular V8.
Vietnam In
Vietnam,
VinFast used a V8 engine in the full-size SUV
VinFast President from December 2020. ==Airplane use==