3 ms·
There was, in fact, a serious problem with T-tailed jets: Superstall, an irrecoverable stall where the turbulent wake of the stalled wing over the stabilizer an
by mannykannot 6y ago
There was, in fact, a serious problem with T-tailed jets: Superstall, an irrecoverable stall where the turbulent wake of the stalled wing over the stabilizer and elevator prevents recovery. A crash of a BAC 111 prototype led to the development of stick shakers and pushers, as stalling presents an unacceptable risk in these cases. It is exacerbated with swept wings having a tendency to stall at the wingtips first, as this typically creates a pitching-up moment.
- kashkhan 6y agoWhen first discovered it was new, but now almost all bizjets have t tails. So it definitely wasn't a fatal flaw but an engineering problem with the configuration.
- mannykannot 6y agoIndeed - there is certainly nothing inherently risky about T-tails, as the many T-tailed sailplanes with relatively docile stall/spin characteristics attest.