Timeline for Why do modern aircraft tend to have angular tails?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
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| Feb 14, 2020 at 4:16 | comment | added | John K | @PeterDuniho yes I've been saying that in other posts about swept tails. On low speed airplanes it's mostly for looks. Which is why the horizontal tail is rarely swept; it's the side profile that matters. In fact if anything, sweeping the rudder hinge imparts a slight nose up pitching moment when the rudder is displaced, although it's too subtle to notice. | |
| Feb 14, 2020 at 3:01 | comment | added | Peter Duniho | While discussing the lower-speed GA part of the equation (the original question appears to be not concerned with those types of planes, but it's still relevant to mention them, as your answer does), it's worth pointing out that marketing has its influence as well: Cessna models like the 172 actually had almost-square tail shapes early on, probably closer in efficiency to an elliptical shape, but later were changed to a swept shape, for no apparent reason other than so it "looks faster". | |
| Feb 13, 2020 at 17:04 | history | answered | John K | CC BY-SA 4.0 |