Questions tagged [vertical-stabilizer]
A fixed vertical fin or fins that provide an aircraft with passive directional stability (keep it from spontaneously yawing sideways into a sideslip), and often serve as the mounting point for the aircraft's rudder(s).
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What is the best procedure if the rudder falls off?
I've recently looked up American Airlines Flight 587, the second worst aircraft accident in U.S history. The main cause of the accident is the separation of the vertical stabilizer and rudder from the ...
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Have an airliner's vertical or horizontal stabilizers or rudders ever broken off?
For a commercial airliner, how strong and reliable are the vertical and horizontal stabilizers and rudders? Can they just break off?
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What are those little pieces for on the C27J?
Here is a picture I took. You can see some pieces on the vertical stabilizer, but only on one side. I imagine this is for an aerodynamic purpose, but I am not sure. What do you think about its purpose?...
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Does oscillation occur in the pitch axis of a plane?
If you a small GA plane, and apply full rudder to one side and then let go, there will be some oscillation from the momentum of the rotation about the yaw axis. Does this same effect happen with the ...
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What is the protruding element on the vertical tail of this Airbus Zero E concept?
The TurboFan concept of Airbus Zero E has a protruding element on the top of its vertical tail, see the image below.
Image source
Zoomed image
Only this variant of the Zero E has it, is it related ...
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Why isn't the rudder below the tail?
Most airplanes have a rudder on top of the tail. When it is turned to the left, it causes the plane to yaw to the left. But it also puts a roll force to the right, because it is usually above the ...
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Could the folding wingtips of a plane (ex. F-35C) be used as a vertical stabilizer?
In the rare event of the vertical stabilizers being ripped off and the rest of the plane surviving, could folding wingtips (given they are far enough behind the CoM to create a stabilizing moment) be ...
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Are there any known aircraft (experimental, otherwise) with non-fixed vertical/horizontal stabilizers?
Imagining contortions of the vertical/horizontal stabilizers and possible use cases for dodging or acrobatics, I was wondering if there were any known aircraft with such a design.
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Which airfoil is used on the Boeing 737 NG vertical stabilizer/rudder?
Does anyone know what airfoil Boeing uses on it's 737 NG's vertical stabilizer or the rudder itself? I can't seem to find the info anywhere and I need it for a university project.
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What does this part on a vertical stabilizer do? [duplicate]
On a B787 vertical stabilizer shown in the image, there's this small fin at the leading edge that connects to the fuselage.
It seems too small in size to be considered a dorsal fin. Simply adding this ...
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Is there a formula to calculate how big a ventral fin should be?
I've been doing some research into vertical stabilizer designs for a university assignment and have come across ventral fins. I've found a fair bit of information on why they're fitted but can't find ...
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Why do some turbofan-engined Caravelles, but not all, have an anti-shock body at the root of the horizontal stabilizers?
Many turbofan-engined Caravelles have a prominent anti-shock body where the horizontal stabilizers attach to the vertical tail, about a quarter of the way up the latter. (Turbojet-engined Caravelles ...
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Does the 787 vertical stabilizer have a connection fairing?
In general, a vertical stabilizer connected with the fuselage will form junctions. The junctions trigger a mix of airstreams, and causes interference drag. A fairing is used the ease the sharp ...
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Why was the tip of the B-52's vertical tail chopped off in 1959?
When Boeing switched over from the B-52F to the B-52G in 1959, they (among other changes) lopped off the top 2.4 meters (8 feet) of the aircraft's vertical tail:
Original-height tail (here on a B-52F)
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What is the difference between a vertical stabilizer and a rudder?
I saw two questions on locating these surfaces ahead of CG:
Vertical Stabilizer and Rudder
How are these the same or different control surfaces?
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What is the taper ratio approximately for the horizontal and vertical stabilizer of a fighter jet and what determines this taper ratio?
I'm looking for historical taper ratios for the tails of different fighter aircrafts, or just a general fighter aircraft. Also why do fighter aircrafts want their taper ratio at a certain value. ...
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how does the lilium jet counter asymmetric thrust?
So Lilium states that its jet is a tailless design. Now, you can see that it has engines on both sides of the centerline.
Lets imagine that all of the engines on one side fail, how does it counter ...
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Pilatus PC-12 vertical tail size
Does anyone know what the dimensions / surface area of the vertical stabilizer is on that plane? Additionally, does anyone know the approximate tail volume and its coefficient?
Could not find it ...
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Why are there double hinge lines on the rudders of the Grumman C-2?
Why are there two sets of hinge lines on the rudders of the Grumman C-2?
A photo from the related ASE question Why does the C-2 left inboard stab not have a rudder?
Why would two hinge lines provide ...
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Can a plane fly without the vertical stabilizer?
What would happen if a plane (for the sake of the question let's say that the plane is an Airbus A380) lost its vertical stabilizer?
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:...
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What are the effects of placing the vertical stabilizer at the front of the aircraft? [duplicate]
I am experimenting with different aircraft designs. The one I am trying right now is a canard (horizontal stabilizer at the front) and the main wings are quite far back. I wondered if it would be of ...
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Why is the DC10/MD11/TriStar vertical stabilizer noticeably smaller than other contemporary aircraft?
Why is it that these planes had vertical stabilisers that were noticeably smaller in proportion the aircraft itself to other aircraft? I understand that they had the engines mounted on the tail but ...
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Why are Vertical tails generally tapered?
I'm just intrigued to know why the vertical tail of a majority of aircraft is tapered? Is it due to aerodynamics, structural design or due to some instrumentation or multiple other reasons?
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What is the purpose of the fin sweep on small piston airplanes? [duplicate]
Why some small piston airplanes, like Cessna 152/172, Tecnam P2008 and many more, have the vertical stabilizer with a sweepback? I don't think that those airplanes may encounter compressibility ...
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For a coaxial rotorcraft, Do horizontal and vertical stabilizers in the tail really make much of a difference?
Can we design a coaxial rotorcraft without tail and tail boom completely? What might be the consequences?
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Why are the leading edges on the Boeing 787 made from aluminum?
Why are the leading edges of the wings, horizontal stabiliser and vertical stabiliser and the engine's inlets made from Aluminium?
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How do I choose the vertical tail's airfoil?
I'm designing a fixed wing UAV and I'm having some doubts about how to determinate the vertical tail airfoil. It's important to say that we've already sized this surface. And till this moment we're ...
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How far away should the vertical stabilizer be from the leading edge of the main wings?
I am wondering what the advantages and disadvantages are of placing the vertical tail nearer to, or farther from, the main wing. For instance, when the vertical tail is just behind the wing, do the ...
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How does vertical stabilisation work?
I know that similar questions are available all over the internet, including this website. However, none of the answers make full sense to me.
I'm looking for simple answer (explain-like-I-am-5 type ...
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What is this mysterious thing on the vertical stabilizer of the Boeing 707?
Have you ever seen this mysterious line-shaped thing on the vertical stabilizer of a Boeing 707 or 720? What purpose does this thing do?
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What is the aerodynamic reason that the An-225's vertical stabilizers are not simply vertical?
I am trying to understand the aerodynamic consideration that the two vertical stabilizers of this gigantic Antonov An-225 are not simply made vertical and are slightly pointing in. Then my questions ...
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Why is a blunt trailing edge a better stabilizer at hypersonic speeds?
Here is what I read about the X-15 spaceplane:
The X-15 had a thick wedge tail to enable it to fly in a steady manner at hypersonic speeds.[14] This produced a significant amount of drag at lower ...
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At what angle-of-attack (sideslip angle) would a symmetrical vertical fin stop "helping" a deflected rudder produce sideforce? [duplicate]
For rudder deflection angles of 5, 10, 20, 30, and 45 degrees, at what (negative) angle-of-attack does a fin-rudder combination (including dorsal fin if present) create exactly the same amount of ...
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Is it useful for twin propeller airplanes to have twin vertical stabilizers, in line with the propellers?
In some twin propeller airplanes, there are two vertical stabilizers which are on the same line as the propellers.
Is this shape helpful in terms of efficiency?
Like this one (twin boom tail):
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Why does the C-2 left inboard stab not have a rudder?
As visible in the following picture
(wikimedia.org)
the left inboard stabilizer doesn't have a rudder but the right one does.
Wikipedia on the C-2 describes it as:
The C-2 has four vertical ...
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Is a vertical stabiliser needed for straight line flight in a glider?
My team is designing a glider and I am unsure about whether or not to include a vertical stabiliser. The task the glider must complete is to achieve the largest possible displacement in a straight ...
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What is a rudder or fin stall?
What is a rudder or fin stall, how will the aircraft behave in that situation, and how should the pilot recognise it? What is the recovery procedure? And what is rudder reversal?
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Why doesn't the A320 have a dorsal fin like the 737?
The A320 doesn't have a dorsal fin, but the 737 does. If the 737 is more or less a similar aircraft, why doesn't the A320 have a similar dorsal fin?
By Bill Larkins [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia ...
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What is the correct procedure in case of vertical stabilizer failure?
What is the correct procedure in case of vertical stabilizer failure in cruise?
Am I correct in guessing that one should descend to a lower altitude and decrease speed?
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Why aren't there aircraft with forward-mounted vertical stabilizers? [duplicate]
Many aircraft have the horizontal stabilizers mounted in front of the main wings (this is called a canard configuration); however, to the best of my knowledge, there don't seem to be any aircraft with ...
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Why do aircraft need a vertical tailfin, but birds don't? (and lots of fish do?)
I don't know of any bird that has a vertical tailfin, but apparently aircraft need them for lateral stability. Why is this?
I did realize, however, that most fish have a vertical tailfin, or a ...
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Are the panels in this vertical stabilizer part of the flight controls?
I've noticed some sort of "flight controls" on an A319 vertical stabilizer.
Here's the original photo
What are those things? Are they used for controlling the movement of the aircraft?
Source: ...
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Could the vertical stabilizer be removed on the NASA X-57?
I was reading this article about how NASA will develop this new X-57 X-plane which has many tiny electric motors mounted on the wing.
Now, I wonder: How come this aircraft still has a vertical ...
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Has there been research into alternatives for the vertical stabilizer?
Are there some activities in research for replacing the vertical stabilizer with a turnable horizontal stabilizer? (flight direction stabilization like the birds)
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How can a flying wing style airplane recover from a spin without a vertical stabilizer? [duplicate]
I fly a Cessna C-172, and if I have any bank when stalling, I have to use rudder to level the airplane. If I use aileron, the bank angle will increase and bring the airplane into a spin.
My question ...
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What are the spiky things on the back of the Antonov-225 vertical stabilizers?
On the Antonov-225's split vertical stabilizers, there is a 'spiked' structure pointing directly rearwards (as you can see below). What is the purpose of these two structures?
source
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Do vertical stabilizers create vortices like wingtips do?
On a wing, a wing tip vortex is unavoidable no matter what configuration you use, but does a vertical stabilizer form a wing tip vortex? I noticed this picture and saw two vortices coming off of the ...
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