Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan showed off the campaign's new planes shining in the bright Florida sun Friday, but the aircraft are hardly brand new.

The Republican presidential candidate's aircraft is a MD-83 built by McDonnell Douglas in 1990, according to FAA records.

Paul Ryan's plane is a DC-9-32, constructed by the same company in 1970, which also happens to be the same year the 42 year old vice presidential candidate was born.

Both aircraft, leased by the campaign from a charter company, were unveiled Friday at a rally in Lakeland, Florida emblazed with "Believe in America" on their sides and a distinctive "R" for Romney on the tails.

Romney's plane was previously personalized for the band U2's 360 tour, complete with the lyric "The future needs a big kiss" emblazoned on the nose.

The aircraft types the campaign chose have been workhorses for commercial passenger airlines for decades, recognizable by the two engines attached to the rear of the plane and two seats on one side of the aisle and three on the other in economy class. For the campaign planes, however, the charter company has fitted the aircraft with business class style seats.

The candidates and staffers sit in the front of the plane in an area separated by a curtain while Secret Service and the traveling press corps fill out the rest of the aircraft.

Romney's plane is nearly 30 feet longer than Ryan's and has two onboard kitchens, while Ryan's only has one galley near the front.

The distance the planes can travel differs, too. Romney's plane is listed by the charter company as having a range of more than five hours and 2750 miles, or roughly the equivalent of a flight from Miami to Seattle. Ryan's plane has a range of only 1600 miles, which could take him from Boston to Dallas without refueling.

Neither aircraft is listed as having an accident in the NTSB's accident database, and their age is not uncommon for charter aircraft.

President Obama, of course, usually travels in one of two specially outfitted 747s. The planes, first used as Air Force One in 1990, are each nearly as long as Romney and Ryan's aircraft combined. Taxpayers foot the bill for the president's official trips on Air Force One, while the campaign pays a portion of expenses for political trips, roughly the equivalent of the cost of a comparable charter flight, as outlined by federal regulations.

Romney's plane has a smaller capacity than most recent presidential candidates' aircraft. In 2008, John McCain flew in a 737 that was slightly larger and Obama flew in a significantly bigger 757. A 757 was also John Kerry's choice in 2004 and George Bush's in 2000.

Vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin had a newer Embraer 190 plane in 2008 that had about the same capacity as Ryan's, and then-Sen. Joe Biden flew in a 737 that was not personalized for the campaign, instead remaining in the charter company's paint scheme.