henra
Excellent! Thank you, you are of course correct. I too am correct in saying that a slab of granite counter top will fly! It will, as will a brick, a cricket bat, etc.
We are in test territory, as I say, I am extrapolating, and this is a learning challenge for me. I promise not to throw the book at you, especially the equations of the Swiss Plumber. The Fin is meant to split the airstream equally, and the Captain who does that most often will please his FAs in the back as they roll their trolleys. If he goofs, he adds Rudder, which truly turns the Fin into a wing, by adding Camber.
I again disagree with your Lift thesis however. The Wing is designed to be UNstable in flight, the required correction being accomplished by the moment arm of the tail feathers. In balancing the a/c, Lift is corralled into work.
The Fin, if lost at altitude and in the condition we see in the photographs, Has monstrous drag at the bottom, with partial hoops and loose skin. The LE has second most, and the rest of the assembly for purposes of discussion has nil. Weight is at the bottom, of course, again with the LE coming in second. Sweep and Taper exaggerate the very limited overall effect on aerodynamics, especially as ALL instability disappears with loss of altitude and a gain of airstream BOXING.
The effect of the airstream at stable vertical trajectory acts to sustain the least "offensive" (to the air), ASPECT.
I do modelling as a hobby, now I'm retired, and have a hot wire and extra Foam in the shop. Shall I construct an honest model and drop it from the second story of the asylum? Wager?
all the best henra, bear