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Thread: Why twin tails?
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Old 1st Jun 2008, 14:47
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Stuck_in_an_ATR
 
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The only oddballs I can come up with are the F-15, F-22, MiG-29, and SU-27. I think in these cases, the amount of power involved means that an enormous tail would be needed in case of an engine out on takeoff. Therefore, it might actually be lighter to use twin tails since the bending moment on a single one would be extemely high.
Actually, on the aforementioned aircraft the twin tail is there for different reasons. All these airplanes incorporate low aspect ratio wings, that generate vortex lift, which enables to achieve extremely high values of AoA and CL, resulting in excellent maneouverability (though at a cost very high drag). The twin tail is required fo this a/c configuration to maintaon directional stability. It has to do with shedding vortices from the wing root and single tail would be ineffective due the surrounding airflow. Don't remember exactly why, maybe someone that flew one of those beasts might ellaborate...
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