Linked Questions
28 questions linked to/from How does an aircraft tailplane work?
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What is the function of the tail section on a fixed-wing aircraft? [duplicate]
In a generic fixed-wing aircraft like a Cessna, what is the function of the tail section, i.e. the rudder and elevators?
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How does a horizontal tailplane stabilize a cambered airfoil aircraft? [duplicate]
The picture below shows the location and movement of centre of pressure when angle of attack is increased. Consider the aircraft is trimmed at the second airfoil in the picture. Thus the horizontal ...
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8
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Why do airplanes usually pitch nose-down in a stall?
Why do airplanes usually pitch nose-down in a fully-developed stall?
I've seen this seemingly-simple question discussed on other aviation forums, but there doesn't seem to be a single agreed-upon ...
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How do conventional and T-tails differ?
What design considerations go into the decision between conventional tails and T-tails? Functionally the horizontal stabilizer/stabilator are the same in both cases, providing negative lift, the ...
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Are there advantages when operating with CG near forward or aft limits?
If the center of gravity of an airplane is too far aft, it will become more unstable
Iif the CG is too far forward, then drag will increase due to increased angle of attack.
But what are the ...
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Do all aircraft need to have horizontal and vertical stabilizers?
Are (or were) there any operational aircraft that don't have horizontal and vertical stabilizers or canards? If so, what's the effect on how they fly?
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Can a plane with 2 sets of shorter wings fly?
I am proposing a plane that has 2 short wings of the same size on either side of the fuselage (two in the front and two in the back). Rather than using the horizontal stabilizer to destroy lift, the ...
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How exactly do the Beechcraft 1900's stabilons work?
The Beechcraft 1900, in addition to the usual wings and vertical and horizontal stabilizers, and the extra vertical tail surfaces added for improved directional stability, has a pair of horizontal ...
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Should the pitching moment be up or down?
I had a question regarding the direction of the pitching moment.
To make sure we are on the same page, here is what I know so far (please correct me if I am wrong).
Lift acts through center of ...
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1
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Where is the best center of gravity?
I'm designing a plane, and I have a question. What is the best place for the center of gravity, relative to the center of lift? I've heard that it's best put just behind the center of lift, but I ...
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Are there any fly-by-wire airliners with negative or near-neutral pitch stability?
Are any modern commercial airliners with fly-by-wire flight control systems designed with negative or near-neutral pitch stability so that they can take advantage of the capability of such systems to ...
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How does a tailplane provide downforce if it has the same AoA as the main wing?
If an airplane is traveling through a uniform environment and its main wing is parallel to its horizontal stabilizer, how does its tailplane generate downforce? Only explanation I can think of is ...
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Why aren’t there any lifting-canard airliners?
A lifting-canard aircraft, such as the Long-EZ, is an aircraft with the main wing at the back end of the fuselage and a pair of small, highly-loaded canards attached to the forward fuselage; the ...
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Why does aircraft stability increase when it transitions from subsonic to supersonic flight?
I am puzzled why would the aircraft be more stable at high speed flight at high altitudes. Given that the Centre or Pressure moves gradually towards the 50% MAC region, once past Mcrit.
Has this got ...
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What are the disadvantages of a Tail providing lift? (tandem-wings included)
Most aircraft feature the tailplane configuration, which requires the main wing to provide higher lift than the weight of the plane itself, what seems counterproductive.
Few aircraft have featured ...
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