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Tailless Aircraft: How Airplanes Fly Without a Tail

Pilot Institute

Use of Reflex Airfoils Ever notice how many tailless aircraft have wings that curve at the trailing edge? This type of design is a reflex airfoil. The reflexed shape of the airfoil usually causes a positive (nose-up) pitching moment coefficient at its aerodynamic center. They combine the functions of elevators and ailerons.

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The Role of Newton’s Third Law in Aviation

Pilot Institute

Developments in aircraft design and engine technology have allowed us to fly farther, faster, and carry more payload. They are designed with a special shape called an airfoil, which encourages passing air to turn and deflect downward. They work in opposite pairs: when one aileron goes up, the other goes down. Wings do just that.

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Nothing Small About It

Plane and Pilot

The airfoil is a Harry Riblett shape, giving modernized flow separation on the leading edge for a soft stall yet with good lift and drag performance. The wing’s dead-smooth surface plus the tight-fitting aileron and flap brackets plus aileron gap seals give the build a professional factory look (left).