tailplane

a small horizontal wing at the tail of an aircraft to provide longitudinal stability

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

tailplane

i. A nearly horizontal airfoil at the tail of an airplane that provides stability in pitching. It has an elevator hinged to its trailing edge. The tailplane can be trimmed from the cockpit.
ii. A pivoted airfoil at the tail of an airplane whose movement up and down is controlled by the pilot through the control column. It has no elevator and can be trimmed besides providing the pitch control for the aircraft. Also called a stabilator

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References in periodicals archive

The tailplane was found by historian Wolfgang Lohmann in the 70s at Hillegossen, Germany, patching up a roof.

Ace Nazi pilot's tail of terror.

The biggest challenge was to determine drag because it is provided not only by wings, but also by fuselage and tailplane. Other components, like landing gear, windshield etc.

Design of future single aisle aircraft

The Hawks' paint scheme incorporates the Union Jack on the tailplane and the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund logo on the underside.

TOP GUN; VALLEY ACE NAMED RAF'S DISPLAY STAR

Given that the aircraft was joining the circuit to land when the accident occurred, the loads on the tailplane are unlikely to have been excessively high at this point.

Corrosion blamed for plane accident; Pilot says he will take legal action

pounds 50 for a 4ft shard of the tailplane in blue-and-white Pan Am livery and two lifejackets.

GREEDY GHOUL OF LOCKERBIE; 20 years to day after horror on Pan Am Flt 103 we nail creep flogging wreckage for pounds 450 If there's a few hundred in it for me I'll sell cockpit gear It's a bit naughty. But I can offer you the emergency exit

First Airbus A400M vertical tailplane arrives at EADS Casa facilities in Madrid Apr 18, 2007

Aircraft News - Europe

tailerons (C) differentially operable ailerons and elevators of an aircraft's tailplane

Frequency heterograms

This plane, the Bleriot VII, was monoplane in configuration, carried a front-mounted engine, a rudder and tailplane to the rear, an enclosed fuselage, and a landing gear assembly featuring two main wheels and a tail wheel.

The free market takes flight

Budgets and contracts are committed on a total of 180 aircraft which will be assembled in Seville from parts despatched from Britain (wings), Germany (fuselage) France (front cockpit and controls) and Spain (tailplane), although this distribution may be altered in the future.

The Paris Air Show: without any defence flying hardware from the traditional antagonists--Russia and the United States--this year's air display looked a bit thin on the ground (pun fully intended). While the usually aircraft-crowded static display could have hosted two football matches, there was, however, a lot going on elsewhere, particularly in the field of drones

In addition, icing can affect the control surface effectiveness and aerodynamic balance, which can lead to changes in longitudinal or lateral stability and, ultimately, a wingtip or tailplane stall (Green, 1998; Green et al., 1996).

Supporting decision making and action selection under time pressure and uncertainty: The case of in-flight icing

Electronic countermeasures includes an infrared missile-approach warner and eight chaff/flare dispensers in the bottom of each engine duct between wingroot and tailplane with another in each tailplane root fairing.

India Leases Backfire Bombers, Buys Aircraft Carrier

The FA-2 has a wing about the size of an F-14 tailplane, so conventional approach speeds tend to be horrific without full flaps.

A Harrier in the Bristol Channel?