Carl Orton wrote:

One thing I noticed was that the "normal" engraved metal manufacturer's data
plate that's usually located under the horizontal stabilizer is missing. In
its place is an engraved plastic plate with the serial number, model number,
etc - the kind of engraved plastic you think of for office nameplates.

This is normal for many aircraft more than about ten years old. Back in the
early 90s, the FAA decided that every modern aircraft had to have certain data
visible outside the plane, and the empennage became the accepted location for
this data. Most aircraft had something like what you are seeing added to meet
the regulation. The Cessna 150 I owned simply had the pertinent information
painted back there.

George Patterson
You can dress a hog in a tuxedo, but he still wants to roll in the mud.