V-tail or Standard Tail

It really is rather hideous! :p

Hi Baz, I meant I don’t think there are any limitations compared to a normal tailed aircraft. As for speed. Fouga max speed is mach 0.82. I’ll try to look up the crosswind data. Meanwhile here’s a picture of the second prototype with the T-tail:

Hi F23
Glad they stuck with the Vee 😀 that looks ugly at the back end !!

JDK I have been brought up in a birdy background, still not see one with a ‘V’ tail, or even a conventional one come to that!

Have a look at a bird landing – they will rotate the flat, spread tail to manoeuvre, achieving the control we need two or three surfaces for with one, operating within the arc of a V tail.

Sure it’s not a V tail, it just does the V job (rather than our preferred ‘T’ type or inversion) more elegantly, and simply.

And they’d probably regard their tails as ‘conventional’ and our clumsy imitations as complex poor copies. 😉

Every aircraft has a demonstrated crosswind landing/take off limitation,I just wondered how the fouga compared to other jet trainers in that respect.

cheers baz

Hi Baz, I meant I don’t think there are any limitations compared to a normal tailed aircraft. As for speed. Fouga max speed is mach 0.82. I’ll try to look up the crosswind data. Meanwhile here’s a picture of the second prototype with the T-tail:

I think Malcolm is right about higher performance limitations.
But why has it not caught on so much, especially when you consider that it cuts down on componants and thus unit price and weight etc?

JDK I have been brought up in a birdy background, still not see one with a ‘V’ tail, or even a conventional one come to that!

As far as I know it has no limitations. The second Fouga prototype was tested with a conventional tail but converted back to V-tail.

Every aircraft has a demonstrated crosswind landing/take off limitation,I just wondered how the fouga compared to other jet trainers in that respect.

cheers baz

I always thought that the Fouga looked really nice,always wanted to fly in one,I love little jets 😀
Using the theory that you never get anything for nothing,does the fouga V tail have any disadvantages ? I was thinking maybe crosswind limitations ?

cheers baz

As far as I know it has no limitations. The second Fouga prototype was tested with a conventional tail but converted back to V-tail.

It’s got to be worse or else it would have been used much more, especially when you think of the advantages in weight saving, (less structure, control surfaces, linkages etc), and less drag.
I’m really not sure what the problems are, but for Supermarine to have changed from the V tail 508 to the standard tail 525 and Scimitar, it must have been drastic.
Republic weren’t very happy with the V tail on the XF-91 compared to the conventional tailed version.

The V tail was replaced with a conventional tail because of directional stability at high speeds. This might not be a problem in aircraft with lower Mach numbers.

I heard that had something to do with the angle of the V tail (Bonanza). Fouga has one and flies just fine. I believe that tail is at 110°

I always thought that the Fouga looked really nice,always wanted to fly in one,I love little jets 😀
Using the theory that you never get anything for nothing,does the fouga V tail have any disadvantages ? I was thinking maybe crosswind limitations ?

cheers baz

Da-11 has V-tail. It goes 155 mph with 18 hp engine.

Birds.

But what do they know?

F-117, YF-23.

I heard that had something to do with the angle of the V tail (Bonanza). Fouga has one and flies just fine. I believe that tail is at 110°

I seem to recall a prototype Bf109 with a V-tail, but don’t remember seeing anything about how it handled in flight…

I have sometimes wondered if a V-tail is better or worst than a standard layout with fin and tailplanes.

It’s got to be worse or else it would have been used much more, especially when you think of the advantages in weight saving, (less structure, control surfaces, linkages etc), and less drag.
I’m really not sure what the problems are, but for Supermarine to have changed from the V tail 508 to the standard tail 525 and Scimitar, it must have been drastic.
Republic weren’t very happy with the V tail on the XF-91 compared to the conventional tailed version.

It has long been said that the V-tail (Model 35) Beech Bonanza has a tendency to “fishtail” in flight (esp.turbulence) compared to other GA types including its conventional-tailed (Model 33) brother.

Other people dispute that, however. Or perhaps, if they’re owners, they’ve just gotten used to it.
Either way, the Bonanza is rare in that it has been produced in quantity both ways.