Vertical Tail Position and Size

The vertical stabilizer, often known as the tail fin or rudder, is a small fin mounted beneath the fuselage of an aircraft to provide directional stability. On an aircraft with a conventional layout, the vertical stabilizer is mounted at the end of the fuselage. On a canard surface, the vertical stabilizer is mounted on the forward fuselage. The vertical stabiliser typically has a larger cross-sectional area than the horizontal stabiliser. Elevators are hinged surfaces on the trailing edges of the horizontal stabilisers of some aircraft, which control an aircraft’s pitch (its nose-up or nose-down attitude).

Vertical tail position and size

The vertical tail position provides an aerodynamic balance for an aircraft’s fuselage as well as keeping its center of pressure vertically aligned with its center of mass. In order to maintain airflow over control surfaces without disruption, it is important that they have distinctive positions within the airflow pattern around them. The primary function of this part is to provide control over yaw motions. The control over yaw motion may be obtained by changing the angle of attack (AOA) which will result in changes in lift. This can be achieved by increasing AOA while maintaining IAS thereby increasing lift on one wing while decreasing it on other one resulting in turning moment which will eliminate yaw motion. Because of the dense air over a wing with excessive angle of attack, lift increases due to higher density of air. This can be achieved by decreasing AOA while maintaining IAS therefore decreasing lift on one wing and retaining it on other one resulting in turning moment that will make yaw motion increase. Likewise, if AOA is maintained constant but increases with IAS then rolling moment will occur which results in roll motion. Changes in AOA and changes in IAS are accomplished by changing the wings angle of attack through proper use of flaps and leading-edge slats along with appropriate use of rudder.

Importance of Vertical tail position and size

The size and position of vertical stabilizer regulates the effectiveness of ailerons. In order to prevent adverse yaw, aircrafts with conventional tail configurations incorporate a rudder. The most common configuration for the vertical stabilizer is a T-tail arrangement in which the stabilizer lies on top of the horizontal tail. By using this arrangement, the rudder must be located near the same vertical plane as the airfoil. This is an effective way of controlling yaw while preventing adverse pressure buildups on rudder surfaces that might cause control troubles. The location of the vertical tail above the critical path allows for a larger rudder with less drag than on a conventional stabilizer which can lead to significant increase in performance at high angles of attack. Small changes in tailplane incidence (angle between body axis and vertical) are more important than large changes in tailplane chord length because moment is produced by angle, not length of a surface.

Significance of Vertical tail position and size

Conventional tail configuration with T-tail configuration has become the norm in modern aircraft design because of its high angle of attack tolerance and good aerodynamic efficiency. The conventional tail configuration improves performance, maneuverability and pilot comfort by reducing adverse yaw loads, aerodynamic interference between the vertical stabilizer and horizontal tail. The tail configuration that is used with a canard layout has become the most popular configuration of aircraft in modern times because of its inherent stability and naturally good lift to drag ratio.

Conclusion

Aircrafts are complex machines that use forces and moments to control movement. During flight, the pilot manipulates the flight controls to achieve specific goals. Aircraft designers must consider many factors when choosing how to control a particular aircraft. This is why there are so many different types of aircrafts with so many different configurations for the wings, fuselage and vertical tail. Vertical tails are important components in an aircraft design because they provide an aerodynamic balance for its fuselage as well as keeping its center of pressure vertically aligned with its center of mass. They also help maintain airflow over control surfaces without disrupting it which allows them to have distinctive positions within the airflow pattern around them.