Return to Answer

Short answer: Yes. Not one, but several. A taildragger configuration for modern airplanes comes with several disadvantages:

• Visibility during taxiing is much worse.

Visibility while taxiing is a safety-relevant issue (Picture source)

• Braking hard will result in a headstand. And with today's landing speeds, braking hard is needed if you want to fly from standard length runways. Carrier-borne aircraft were the first to feel this consequence of increasing landing speeds, so they converted first to tricycle gears.

That is what is colloquially called a "headstand" (Picture source)

• Loading and unloading will become more complicated. The current way of sliding containers manually on a flat deck would need to be replaced by internal winches pulling the containers up the ramp to the door.
• Drag during ground roll is much higher as long as tail lift is not sufficient to get the tail up. Take-off distances would also become longer.

In short, it comes down to minimizing field lengths and increasing safety.

Who says there are no taildragger airliners? (Picture source)

Short answer: Yes. Not one, but several. A taildragger configuration for modern airliners comes with several disadvantages:

• Visibility during taxiing is much worse.

Visibility while taxiing is a safety-relevant issue (Picture source)

• Braking hard will result in a headstand. And with today's landing speeds, braking hard is needed if you want to fly from standard length runways. Carrier-borne aircraft were the first to feel this consequence of increasing landing speeds, so they converted first to tricycle gears.

That is what is colloquially called a "headstand" (Picture source)

• Loading and unloading will become more complicated. The current way of sliding containers manually on a flat deck would need to be replaced by internal winches pulling the containers up the ramp to the door.
• Drag during ground roll is much higher as long as tail lift is not sufficient to get the tail up. Take-off distances would also become longer.

In short, it comes down to minimizing field lengths and increasing safety.

Who says there are no taildragger airliners? (Picture source)

Short answer: Yes. Not one, but several. A taildragger configuration for modern airlines comes with several disadvantages:

• Visibility during taxiing is much worse.

Visibility while taxiing is a safety-relevant issue (Picture source)

• Braking hard will result in a headstand. And with todays landing speeds, breaking hard is needed if you want to fly from standard length runways. Carrier-borne aircraft were the first to feel this consequence of increasing landing speeds, so they converted first to tricycle gears.

That is what is colloquially called a headstand (Picture source)

• Loading and unloading will become more complicated. The current way of sliding containers manually on a flat deck would need to be replaced by internal winches pulling the containers up the ramp to the door.
• Drag during ground roll is much higher as long as tail lift is not sufficient to get the tail up. Take-off distances would also become longer.

In short, it comes down to minimizing field lengths and increasing safety.

Who says there are no taildragger airliners? (Picture source)

Short answer: Yes. Not one, but several. A taildragger configuration for modern airplanes comes with several disadvantages:

• Visibility during taxiing is much worse.

Visibility while taxiing is a safety-relevant issue (Picture source)

• Braking hard will result in a headstand. And with today's landing speeds, braking hard is needed if you want to fly from standard length runways. Carrier-borne aircraft were the first to feel this consequence of increasing landing speeds, so they converted first to tricycle gears.

That is what is colloquially called a "headstand" (Picture source)

• Loading and unloading will become more complicated. The current way of sliding containers manually on a flat deck would need to be replaced by internal winches pulling the containers up the ramp to the door.
• Drag during ground roll is much higher as long as tail lift is not sufficient to get the tail up. Take-off distances would also become longer.

In short, it comes down to minimizing field lengths and increasing safety.

Who says there are no taildragger airliners? (Picture source)

A taildragger configuration for modern airlines comes with several disadvantages:

• Visibility during taxiing is much worse.
• Braking hard will result in a headstand. And with todays landing speeds, breaking hard is needed if you want to fly from standard length runways. Carrier-borne aircraft were the first to feel this consequence of increasing landing speeds, so they converted first to tricycle gears.

That is what is colloquially called a headstand (Picture source)

• Loading and unloading will become more complicated. The current way of sliding containers manually on a flat deck would need to be replaced by internal winches pulling the containers up the ramp to the door.
• Drag during ground roll is much higher as long as tail lift is not sufficient to get the tail up. Take-off distances would also become longer.

In short, it comes down to minimizing field lengths and increasing safety.

Who says there are no taildragger airliners? (Picture source)

Short answer: Yes. Not one, but several. A taildragger configuration for modern airlines comes with several disadvantages:

• Visibility during taxiing is much worse.

Visibility while taxiing is a safety-relevant issue (Picture source)

• Braking hard will result in a headstand. And with todays landing speeds, breaking hard is needed if you want to fly from standard length runways. Carrier-borne aircraft were the first to feel this consequence of increasing landing speeds, so they converted first to tricycle gears.

That is what is colloquially called a headstand (Picture source)

• Loading and unloading will become more complicated. The current way of sliding containers manually on a flat deck would need to be replaced by internal winches pulling the containers up the ramp to the door.
• Drag during ground roll is much higher as long as tail lift is not sufficient to get the tail up. Take-off distances would also become longer.

In short, it comes down to minimizing field lengths and increasing safety.

Who says there are no taildragger airliners? (Picture source)