Center of Gravity Payload Rudder 
Pilot Institute
JUNE 4, 2025
A tailless aircraft may still have a fuselage and a vertical tail (fin and rudder). The Weather Vane It mostly comes from the vertical stabilizer (fin) and the sides of the fuselage behind the center of gravity. This feature lets the aircraft’s center of gravity sit in front of the aerodynamic center.
Pilot Institute
APRIL 12, 2025
If we understand it well enough, we can harness this phenomenon to help us even defy gravity. Developments in aircraft design and engine technology have allowed us to fly farther, faster, and carry more payload. The aircraft pivots about its center of gravity. This is where the rudder comes in.
Plane and Pilot
OCTOBER 3, 2024
An elegantly simple rope system inside the fuselage raises and lowers the Gweduck’s water rudder mounted inside the base of the main rudder (right). The only unconventional thing I noticed (as did the folks in back) was the rudder has a dead spot mid-travel. lb/sq ft Power loading 10.32 Overall, the controls were wonderful.
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