Remove Center of Gravity Remove Cockpit Remove Payload
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Tailless Aircraft: How Airplanes Fly Without a Tail

Pilot Institute

The Weather Vane It mostly comes from the vertical stabilizer (fin) and the sides of the fuselage behind the center of gravity. The reflexed shape of the airfoil usually causes a positive (nose-up) pitching moment coefficient at its aerodynamic center. This also means resisting unwanted side-to-side nose movements.

Tail 52
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Nothing Small About It

Plane and Pilot

After squeezing through the landing gear houses I settled into the right seat for our evaluation flights because frankly, this is a complex airplane with a complex cockpit. Nudging it back to center slid the ball a diameter the other way—trying to corral it in the middle was a bit pointless as it didn’t want to live there.