Notes on the tail-first aeroplane

Abstract

The tail-first aeroplane has certain strong attractions when combined with a tricycle undercarriage; in particular it has been suggested that it would represent a definite advance in the production of high lift. In these notes the main characteristics of a tail-first design are summarised and discussed, and an analysis is given of high-lift control with front and rear tails. It is shown that the high-lift claims made for the front tail are illusory in the present stage of development of high lift devices, owing to the high lift whick the tail must provide to balance the high lift of the wing. A front tail would immensely simplify the problem of longitudinal stability. The problem of getting enough directional stability and control without increasing drag would require research on a model. It could probably be arranged to work with a CLMAX of from 2 to 2.5 (i.e., with full-span slotted or split flaps), but is incapable of dealing with a CLMAX of 3 or over unless the point of application of high lift can be moved much further forward on the wing chord than at present.