Originally Posted by
Kulwin Park
VERY NICE !!! I've worked on both the old & new 135's - they are a brilliant workhorse.
But why do they have the taller vertical fin fairing?
No floats either, which I thought would've been a requirement over water rescuing & transferring astronauts?
The extended vertical fin fairing is Airbus’s response to the design department’s decision to remove the vertical stabilisers on the T3 variant. The first T3s, without the fin extension, had (still have) an uncomfortable tendency to fishtail at high speed, especially in turbulent conditions. The fin extension is now offered as an optional refit for those early airframes. Makes you wonder how come the test pilots signed it off in the first place.