How is the American Flag to be shown on a General Aviation airplane? 
Are the stars always to the left on either side of the body of plane? 
Or are the stars always to the front of the plane regardless of which
side it is mounted? Air Force One has the flag later of the two ways
but it is always carrying the president (at least when it is called
"Air Force One." And it is mounted on the tail (Flag "flying in the
breeze" sort of thing)Is that correct for a Cessna carrying an
everyday "Joe" when mounted on the body of the plane?

Hello.

A person in the rec.aviation.homebuilt newsgroup asked the Air Force
about this.  The response was that that bars of the flag should be
appear to be trailing.

"USAF Technical Manual...Section IV... para 4-2b (American Flag Markings)
 The American Flag marking, when authorized, shall be located on both
sides of the rudder or vertical stabilizer above all other markings of
significance. The flag shall be positioned horizontally and in such a
manner that the union shall
be uppermost.  The bars of the flag shall appear to be trailing at all times."
source: Google Groups
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&c2coff=1&selm=3946AAD7.59B91403%40sensor.com

Thus, what you see on Air Force One (i.e.,  the bars trailing and the
stars toward the front of the plane) is not just unique to AF1 but is,
in fact, the standard for aircraft.

Would it be correct for a Cessna?  Yes.  Notice that on the web site
of AircraftSpruce.com, a company specializing in supplies for small
planes, that every U.S. flag decal comes in a pair (left & right
pattern) in accordance with the Air Force standard mentioned above.
See:
" U.S. Flag decals in right and left hand pattern."
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/cspages/usflags.php

--------
search strategy:
google groups:
rec.aviation.* "american flag"
"flag decals" cessna

Thanks!

---

Clarification of Answer by juggler-ga on 09 Jul 2004 13:01 PDT

Sorry for those typos in the second sentence:

"The response was that the bars of the flag should appear to be trailing."

Fast and accurate.  Thanks

Thank you for the tip.
-juggler