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Tailless Aircraft: How Airplanes Fly Without a Tail

Pilot Institute

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. A tailless aircraft is a fixed-wing airplane without a horizontal stabilizing surface. Directional (yawing) stability from the vertical stabilizer.

Tail 52
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What Is a Variable-Sweep Wing? How Swing Wings Work

Pilot Institute

The design adds weight, complexity, and maintenance needs. These systems control the wings, but engineers also take structural integrity and aerodynamic balance into consideration. These movements are controlled by hydraulic or electric actuators, which are managed by onboard computers or you, the pilot.