FROM THE ENGINEERS DESK Vee-Tails A V-tail is an unconventional arrangement of the tail control surfaces, invented and patented in 1930 by Polish engineer Jerzy Rudlicki, that replaces the traditional fin and horizontal surfaces with two surfaces set in a V-shaped configuration when viewed from the front or rear of the aircraft. The rear of each surface is hinged, and these movable sections combine the tasks of the elevators and rudder. Ideally, the V-tail is lighter, has less wetted surface area, and thus produces less drag. However, NACA studies indicated that the V-tail surfaces must be larger than simple projection into the vertical & horizontal planes would suggest, such that total wetted area is roughly constant; reduction of intersection surfaces from three to two does, however, produce a net reduction in drag through elimination of some interference drag. Some modern light jet general aviation aircraft such as the Cirrus Jet, Eclipse 400 or the unmanned Global Hawk often have the power plant placed outside the aircraft to protect the passengers and make certification easier. In such cases V-tails are used to avoid placing the vertical stabilizer in the exhaust of the engine, which would disrupt the flow of the exhaust, reducing thrust and increasing wear on the stabilizer, possibly leading to damage over time. Combining the pitch and yaw controls is difficult and requires a more complex control system. The V-tail arrangement also places greater stress on the rear fuselage when pitching and yawing. A substantial number of UAV use this cinfiguration. From the lockheed Have Blue on, many stealth aircraft use this configuration in order to reduce the effective radar cross section, by deflecting the radar energy away from the receiver. r/Jose
Posted on: Tue, 23 Sep 2014 13:00:00 +0000
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