Aircraft stabilizer. General arrangement and control of the aircraft

2024 Author: Harold Hamphrey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:06

What do we know about the aircraft stabilizer? Most people will just shrug their shoulders. Those who loved physics at school may be able to say a few words, but, of course, specialists will most likely be able to answer this question most fully. Meanwhile, this is a very important part, without which the flight is actually impossible.

Principal device of the aircraft

If asked to draw several adult airliners, the pictures will be approximately the same and will differ only in details. The layout of the aircraft, most likely, will look like this: cockpit, wings, fuselage, interior and the so-called tail unit. Someone will draw portholes, and someone will forget about them, perhaps some other little things will be missed. Perhaps the artists will not even be able to answer what certain details are needed for, we just don’t think about it, although we see planes quite often, both live and in pictures, in movies and just on TV. And this is actually the fundamental device of the aircraft - the rest, in comparison with this, are just trifles. The fuselage and wings actually serve to lift the aircraft into the air, control is carried out in the cockpit, and in the cabinthere are passengers or cargo. Well, what about the tail unit, what is it for? Not for beauty, right?

Tail

Those who drive a car know very well how to go to the side: you just need to turn the steering wheel, after which the wheels will move. But an airplane is a completely different matter, because there are no roads in the air, and some other mechanisms are needed to control it. This is where pure science comes into play: a flying car is affected by a large number of different forces, and those that are useful are amplified, while the rest are minimized, resulting in a certain balance.

Probably, almost everyone who has seen an airliner in their life paid attention to the complex structure in its tail section - plumage. It is this relatively small part, oddly enough, that controls this entire gigantic machine, forcing it not only to turn, but also to gain or drop altitude. It consists of two parts: vertical and horizontal, which, in turn, are also divided in two. There are also two rudders: one serves to set the direction of movement, and the other - the height. In addition, there is a part with which the longitudinal stability of the airliner is achieved.

By the way, the aircraft stabilizer can be located not only in its rear part. But more on that later.

Stabilizer

The modern scheme of the aircraft provides many details necessary to maintain the safe condition of the airliner and its passengers at all stagesflight. And, perhaps, the main one is the stabilizer, located at the rear of the structure. It is, in fact, just a bar, so it's amazing how such a relatively small detail can in any way affect the movement of a huge airliner. But it is really very important - when this part breaks down, the flight can end very tragically. For example, according to the official version, it was the plane's stabilizer that caused the recent crash of a passenger Boeing in Rostov-on-Don. According to international experts, the mismatch in the actions of the pilots and the mistake of one of them triggered one of the parts of the tail, moving the stabilizer to a position characteristic of a dive. The crew simply did not manage to do anything to prevent a collision. Fortunately, the aircraft industry does not stand still, and each subsequent flight gives less and less room for the human factor.

Functions

As the name implies, the stabilizer of an aircraft is used to control its movement. By compensating and damping some peaks and vibrations, it makes flying smoother and safer. Since deviations occur both in the vertical and in the horizontal axis, the stabilizer is also controlled in two directions - that's why it consists of two parts. They can have a very different design, depending on the type and purpose of the aircraft, but in any case, they are present on any modern aircraft.

Horizontal part

She is responsible for balancing vertically, preventing the car from "nodding" every now and then, and consists of two main parts. The first of them is a fixed surface, which, in fact, is the aircraft's altitude stabilizer. A second part is attached to this part on a hinge - a steering wheel that provides control.

In normal aerodynamic configuration, the horizontal stabilizer is located in the tail. However, there are also designs when it is in front of the wing or there are two of them at all - in front and behind. There are also so-called "tailless" or "flying wing" schemes that do not have horizontal tail at all.

Vertical part

This part provides the aircraft with directional stability in flight, preventing it from wobbling from side to side. This is also a composite structure, which provides for the fixed vertical stabilizer of the aircraft, or keel, as well as the rudder on the hinge.

This part, like the wing, depending on the purpose and the required characteristics, can have a very different shape. Diversity is also achieved through differences in the relative position of all surfaces and the addition of additional parts, such as forkil or ventral ridge.

Shape and mobility

Perhaps the most popular in civil aviation now is the T-tail, in which the horizontal part is at the end of the keel. However, there are some others.

For some time, a V-shaped plumage was used, in which both parts simultaneously performed the functions of both horizontal and vertical parts at once. Complex management and relatively low efficiency prevented this option from being widely adopted.

In addition, there is a spaced vertical tail, in which parts of it can be on the sides of the fuselage and even on the wings.

As far as mobility is concerned, usually the stabilizing surfaces are rigidly fixed to the hull. Nevertheless, there are options, especially when it comes to the horizontal tail.

If you can change the angle relative to the longitudinal axis on the ground, this type of stabilizer is called reversible. If the aircraft stabilizer can also be controlled in the air, it will be mobile. This is typical for heavy airliners that need additional balancing. Finally, on supersonic machines, a movable aircraft stabilizer is used, which also acts as an elevator.