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Old 12-06-2004 | 09:37 PM
  #4  
britbrat
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From: Deep River, ON, CANADA
Default RE: Tailplane height

T tails should be avoided unless there is some compelling reason to use one. They are inherently weak & require extra material (weight) to achieve acceptable strength, they sometimes have VERY nasty stall characteristics, if they are out of the prop slipstream (the usual case) they offer poorer elevator response at low airspeeds, and they have high polar moments of inertia.

They are usefull to keep the horizontal control surfaces out of water spray in amphibs & seaplanes (like the Seamaster), they are used to keep the horiztail out of the jet blast on high-wing transports like the C-141, C-5A & C17, & they are used to permit aft-fuselage jet engine installations like in the DC-9 -- not too many genuine model applications.