PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - What Happened to the Aft Engine Mounted "T" Tail Design?
Old 21st Jul 2012, 15:40
  #1 (permalink)  
L-38
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: KLAX
Posts: 287
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
What Happened to the Aft Engine Mounted "T" Tail Design?

Today, jet transport manufacturers seem to be exclusively manufacturing medium range airplanes that feature a wing pylon mounted engine design. Clean "T" tail designs that have worked in the past (designs such as the MD-80, B-717, B-727, TU 54, Trident, VC10) are not being improved, and such a design style seems to be now becoming abandoned to history.

Could the sleek DC-9/MD-80 have been better engineered to outlive that of the ubiquitous B-737 and A-320?

Fuselage engine mounted "T" tail airplanes are quieter, not as susceptible to pod strikes or FOD, and have better single engine asymmetrical performance. . . a clean wing looks better too!

Even Embraer has switched to a wing mount design. . . . so why are such "T" tail designs a sudden historic thing of the past?
L-38 is offline