Empennage

The tail of a plane is very important.

It works like feathers on an arrow. It keeps the plane steady in the sky.

Some parts of the tail move. These parts help the plane turn. They help the nose go up or down.

This helps the pilot fly safely.

The tail also holds special tools. These tools record what happens. They stay safe if there is a crash.

The tail is a very smart part of a plane.

The empennage is the tail of an aircraft.

It works like the feathers on an arrow. This part helps the plane stay steady during flight.

The tail has two main parts. One part is the tailplane. It has a fixed part called a horizontal stabiliser. This helps with pitch, which is the up-and-down motion of the nose. The moving part is the elevator. It lets the pilot change the pitch.

The other part is the fin. It has a fixed vertical stabiliser. This helps with yaw. Yaw is when the nose moves left or right. The moving part is the rudder. It helps the plane turn left or right.

Tail shapes can look very different. A T-tail looks like the letter T. The tailplane sits on top of the fin. Some planes have two fins. We call this a twin tail. Other planes use a V-tail. These have surfaces set at angles. These parts also hold tools. These tools record flight data. They stay safe in a crash because they are at the back.

The empennage is the structure at the back of an aircraft.

It is also called the tail assembly. This part is very important for keeping a plane steady. It works much like the feathers on an arrow. Without it, many early planes were almost impossible to fly.

The name comes from a French word. That word means "to feather an arrow."

The empennage works by managing how a plane moves. It uses horizontal and vertical surfaces to control flight. The horizontal tailplane helps with pitch. Pitch is the up-and-down movement of the nose. The fixed part is the horizontal stabiliser. The moving part is the elevator. Moving the elevator changes the pitch. The vertical fin controls yaw. Yaw is when the nose moves left or right. The movable part of the fin is the rudder.

Engineers design many different tail shapes. A conventional tail is the most common type. It is used on about 60% of current aircraft.

You can see this on a Cessna 172 or an Airbus A380. Some planes use a T-tail. This looks like the letter T. The horizontal part sits on top of the fin. This keeps it out of the engine wake. Other planes use a cruciform tail. This looks like a cross from the front.

There are even more unusual designs. A twin tail has two small vertical fins.

Examples include the Avro Lancaster. Some planes use a V-tail. These surfaces are set at diagonal angles. They can be lighter and create less drag.

An outboard tail is split into two pieces. These are mounted on short booms behind the wing tips.

This design was first made during World War II. It was tested on the Skoda-Kauba SL6 in 1944.

The empennage is more than just for steering. It is a very safe place for important tools. Many planes keep their flight data recorders there. They also keep the emergency locator transmitter in the tail. This is because the back of the plane is often better protected during a crash. This makes it easier to find information after an accident. Pilots can also use trim devices. These help them fly without constant pressure on the controls.

The empennage is the structural assembly located at the rear of an aircraft.

It is also commonly called the tail or tail assembly. This structure is vital because it provides stability during flight. Its function is very similar to the feathers on an arrow. The name comes from a French verb meaning "to feather an arrow." Without an empennage, many early aircraft were virtually unflyable.

While most planes have one, some rare designs like the Northrop B-2 are heavier-than-air aircraft without any empennage at all.

The empennage manages the flight dynamics of an aircraft through specific movements. These movements are known as yaw and pitch.

The horizontal tailplane manages pitch, which is the up-and-down motion of the nose. The front part is the fixed horizontal stabiliser. The rear part is the elevator, a movable aerofoil. On some planes, the entire unit moves as one piece called a stabilator. The vertical fin manages yaw, which is the side-to-side motion of the nose. The fixed part is the vertical stabiliser. The movable part is the rudder. When pilots use the rudder with the ailerons, they create a coordinated banking turn.

Engineers use different trim devices to help pilots fly more easily. These devices reduce the need for constant pressure on the controls. One type is a trim tab, which is a small part on the rear of the elevator or rudder. Another type is an adjustable stabiliser that can be jacked to a new angle. Some aircraft use a bungee trim system with a spring. Others use an anti-servo tab to increase the feel of the control force. A servo tab can actually move the main control surface itself. In multi-engine planes, trim tabs on the rudder help the pilot keep the plane straight if one engine is not working.

There are many ways to configure a tailplane. A conventional tail is the simplest design. It has the vertical and horizontal stabilisers mounted to the rear of the fuselage. This type is used in about 60% of current aircraft designs. It is also used in about 80% of all aircraft ever made.

You can see this on a small Cessna 172 or a massive Airbus A380. A cruciform tail places the horizontal stabilisers midway up the vertical fin.

This looks like a cross from the front. This design keeps the stabilisers out of the engine wake. A T-tail mounts the horizontal stabiliser on top of the fin.

T-tails are efficient at low speeds but can be harder to recover from a spin.

Some aircraft use more complex fin and tailplane arrangements. A twin tail, or H-tail, uses two small vertical stabilisers on either side of the horizontal part.

Examples include the Avro Lancaster. A twin boom design uses two separate booms with a vertical stabiliser on each.

Some planes use V-tails, where the surfaces are set at diagonal angles.

These surfaces are called ruddervators because they handle both yaw and pitch. A V-tail can be lighter and produce less drag. There are also Y-tails, which add a lower fin, and X-tails, which use four diagonal surfaces.

An unusual design is the outboard tail. This system splits the tail into two halves. Each half is mounted on a short boom behind the wing tips. This design can reduce drag and improve efficiency. It was first developed during World War II by Richard Vogt and George Haag. It reappeared much later on the SpaceShipOne in 2003. Finally, some aircraft are described as "tailless." These usually have all their horizontal control surfaces on the main wing. Most still use a vertical fin and rudder to stay stable.

The empennage is also a critical location for safety equipment. Many aircraft store the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder in the tail. They also place the emergency locator transmitter (ELT) there. This is because the rear of the aircraft often provides better protection during a crash. By placing these tools in the empennage, engineers make it more likely that important data can be recovered after an accident.