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Tailless Aircraft: How Airplanes Fly Without a Tail

Pilot Institute

A tailless aircraft is a fixed-wing airplane without a horizontal stabilizing surface. With this type of aircraft, the functions of longitudinal stability and control are incorporated into the main wing. Directional (yawing) stability from the vertical stabilizer. What Is a Tailless Aircraft? Lets find out.

Tail 52
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What Is a Flat Spin?

Pilot Institute

PARE: Power idle, Ailerons neutral, Rudder opposite, Elevator forward. An aft center of gravity increases flat spin risk. A flat spin happens when the center of gravity shifts too far aft (toward the tail), and the aircraft’s rotation becomes more horizontal. Ailerons: Neutral. Let’s get started!

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The Hazards of Aircraft Icing: Explained

Pilot Institute

Additional Dangers of Ice Accumulation Icing also makes your aircraft heavier and can even change the position of the center of gravity. It most commonly forms on the leading edges of your aircraft, including the wings, tail, and horizontal stabilizer, as well as on the propeller blades and pitot tubes.

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What Is a Dutch Roll, and Is It Dangerous?

Pilot Institute

Longitudinal Stability Longitudinal stability exists about the pitch axis. Placing the center of gravity ahead of the aircraft’s center of lift improves longitudinal stability. The aircraft’s horizontal stabilizer (tailplane) creates a downward lift to counterbalance pitching moments.

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We Fly: Aviat Husky

Flying Magazine

That required the creation of a redesigned, shorter span aileron that resulted in a markedly increased roll rate. As Aviat worked to increase the useful load of the Husky, it also extended the center of gravity (CG) range. Slow flight requires good rudder work to handle adverse aileron yaw when rolling at all aggressively.

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Nothing Small About It

Plane and Pilot

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). Just recognizable in the background is a horizontal stabilizer and one-piece elevator. The old Grummans are, sadly, near extinction in workable form today.