Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The vertical stabilizer is the fixed vertical surface of the empennage. A vertical stabilizer or tail fin [1] [2] is the static part of the vertical tail of an aircraft. [1] The term is commonly applied to the assembly of both this fixed surface and one or more movable rudders hinged to it. Their role is to provide control, stability and trim ...
The vertical tail structure has a fixed front section called the vertical stabiliser, used to control yaw, which is movement of the fuselage right to left motion of the nose of the aircraft. The rear section of the vertical fin is the rudder , a movable aerofoil that is used to turn the aircraft's nose right or left.
It may still have a fuselage, vertical tail fin (vertical stabilizer), and/or vertical rudder. Theoretical advantages of the tailless configuration include low parasitic drag as on the Horten H.IV soaring glider and good stealth characteristics as on the Northrop B-2 Spirit bomber. Disadvantages include a potential sensitivity to trim.
Historically, though, there is a subtle difference between the two terms. If the longitudinal members in a fuselage are few in number (usually 4 to 8) and run all along the fuselage length, then they are called "longerons". The longeron system also requires that the fuselage frames be closely spaced (about every 4 to 6 in or 10 to 15 cm).
The vertical stabilizer of the Airbus A310-300, first flown in 1985, was the first carbon-fiber primary structure used in a commercial aircraft; composites are increasingly used since in Airbus airliners: the horizontal stabilizer of the A320 in 1987 and A330/A340 in 1994, and the center wing-box and aft fuselage of the A380 in 2005. [3]
The wing root fairing of an American Aviation AA-1 Yankee. An aircraft fairing is a structure whose primary function is to produce a smooth outline and reduce drag. [1]These structures are covers for gaps and spaces between parts of an aircraft to reduce form drag and interference drag, and to improve appearance.
Fuselage behind the center of gravity (CG) and tail fin both contribute to directional stability. Directional stability about the aircraft's vertical axis is also referred to as yawing. This is primarily achieved by the area of the vertical stabilizer and the sides of the fuselage aft of the center of gravity. When an airplane is flying in a ...
Examples of sideforce-generating surfaces are the vertical stabilizer, rudder, and parts of the fuselage. When an aircraft is in a sideslip, these surfaces generate sidewards lift forces. If the surface is above or below the center of gravity, the sidewards forces generate a rolling moment. This rolling moment caused by sideslip is dihedral ...