Pilot Institute

JUNE 4, 2025

Have you ever seen an airplane with no tail and no vertical fin, but with just a sleek wing? How does it turn or climb without the usual control surfaces? Despite their lack of horizontal control surfaces, tailless aircraft are designed to be stable. Ever wondered how it stays balanced? What Is a Tailless Aircraft?

Tail 52

Tail Airplanes Weight-Shift-Control Drag 52

Pilot Institute

APRIL 22, 2025

You may pilot aircraft with a Maximum Takeoff Weight (MTOW) of 1320 pounds, carry no more than one passenger, and fly only during the daytime up to 10,000 feet MSL (or 2,000 AGL). A great option for that is taking an interactive ground school, such as the private airplane pilot course on Pilotinstitute.com. Multiengine land.

Pilot 86

Pilot Weight-Shift-Control Lift Airplanes 86

Flying Magazine

MAY 1, 2024

The ability to bank is essential to controlled flight. Otto Lilienthal did it by shifting his weight, but for the much larger Wright Flyer the solution was to make one wing produce more lift than the other by twisting them in opposite directions. But it cannot have been quite so obvious then.

Aileron 111

Aileron Airfoil Weight-Shift-Control Airplanes 111

Pilot Institute

JUNE 12, 2025

The design adds weight, complexity, and maintenance needs. A variable-sweep wing, also called a “swing wing,” is a type of airplane wing that can change its angle while flying. These systems control the wings, but engineers also take structural integrity and aerodynamic balance into consideration. What Is a Variable-Sweep Wing?

Weight-Shift-Control 52

Weight-Shift-Control Drag Lift Payload 52