Page 686 - PPL-engelsk 2025

Aircraft general knowledge

8.3.4 Tail and rudder

Here you can see the tail section of the aircraft, the empennage.

Like the tail of a dart or a

badminton ball, it stabilizes the
aircraft.

The further back the tail is, the

less you can make it.

Note the design of the rudder. Part of it sits in front of the hinge line and helps

to ease the pull on the control lines. This is called aerodynamic balancing.

There is a trim option for both elevator and rudder. Trim on the rudder is the

small flap at the bottom of the rudder. Trim on the elevator is on the inner part

close to the airframe.

Here you see a combined elevator and

tailplane.

The control rotates around the dotted
line. The anti-servo tab moves in the

same direction as the rudder and has a

steering and stabilizing effect at the

same time.

Used on Piper aircraft, among others.

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Flyveteori PPL(A)(UL)/LAPL Henning Andersen, Midtjysk Flyveskole© 2025 686