Document and Entity Information	9 Months Ended
	Jul. 27, 2012	Aug. 28, 2012
Document Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Jul. 27, 2012
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Trading Symbol	ESL
Entity Registrant Name	ESTERLINE TECHNOLOGIES CORP
Entity Central Index Key	0000033619
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--10-26
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		30,857,658