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Old 4th May 2011, 16:05
  #657 (permalink)  
ChristiaanJ
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
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Brief note re the discussion about a/c continuing to fly with part of the vertical tail missing....

As an aeronautical engineer, I wondered a few times, why todays airliners with two wing-mounted engines have such huge vertical tails, compared to other aircraft.
The answer turned out to be, that the 'design case' is directional stability and control during an engine failure at low speed (i.e., during take-off or landing).
In most other 'design cases' a much smaller vertical tail would be adequate, as demonstrated by that B-52...

Even without a vertical tail, the rear end of the fuselage provides some "weathervane" stability, but in that case the complete lack of a rudder can be a nuisance.....
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