Most airplanes operating today have wings, rudders, a fuselage, and a tail section, but is it possible for planes to fly without tails? Early Tailless aircraft designs appeared before the first powered flight in 1903, but it’s essential to understand why aeronautical engineers generally choose to include tails in their designs.
Can an airplane fly without a tail? With the additions of trim flaps, canards, or computer assistance, planes can fly without tails. Without compensating for the absence of a tail, a plane is less stable and difficult to control.
Modern aircraft, with fly-by-wire controls and enhanced aerodynamics, look alien when you compare them with planes of the early twentieth century. However, the basic design features of aircraft haven’t changed much except in the cases of tailless planes. A plane’s tail section provides stability and helps control the yaw (side to side movement). How can tailless planes be as safe, stable, or as easy to fly as a traditional plane?
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What Kinds of Design Changes Allow a Plane to Fly Without a Tail?
At the close of the nineteenth century, fearless designers from around the world failed to produce a practical powered aircraft. The Wright Flyer changed everything in Kitty Hawk, NC in 1903 with a heavier-than-air vehicle that proved man could fly.
The Wright Brothers designed the Flyer with a vertical stabilizer to improve stability, and most modern planes still include the tail sections. Although it retains a vertical stabilizer, delta-wing designs have large, triangle-shaped wings and do not have a horizontal stabilizer.
The delta wings compensate for the lack of a horizontal stabilizer by extending the wing to the tail. The design was not entirely successful until the deltas were outfitted with jet engines.
Prominent Delta Wing Airplanes
- Convair F-102
- Avro Vulcan
- Saab 35 Draken
- Dassault Mirage
- Tupolev Tu-144
- Concorde airliner
The delta-wing design went through numerous changes since the first supersonic military fighter, the Convair F-102 (image below), made its debut in 1956. Designers added canards, first used on the Wright Flyer, to delta wings to improve maneuverability at high speeds.
Canards are small forewings placed in front of the plane’s wings. The Saab 37 Viggen was the first successful military aircraft to use the canard design, and the concept remains relevant in modern European and Chinese fighters.
Prominent Delta Wings with Canards
- Saab 37 Viggen
- Dassault Mirage III
- Atlas Cheetah
- Saab JAS-39 Gripen
- Eurofighter Typhoon
- Chengdu J-10
The Gripen, Typhoon, and J-10 are modern jetfighters that rely on canards and computer assistance to remain stable in battle. At high speeds, prior canard designs (without computer assistance) experienced stability problems due to increased airflow around the canards.
The modern designs use a fly-by-wire system that corrects the stability issue. A computer creates artificial stability that allows the fighters to engage in combat at high speed. Without computer corrections, delta wings sometimes fell into stalls. If you would like to see a video of a JAS-39 Gripen flying in the ski over Singapore, you may do so below.
Due to the absence of horizontal stabilizers, delta wings (with or without canards) are considered “tailless” by most aviation historians. However, purists only consider a plane without horizontal or vertical stabilizers to be tailless. The most famous example of an aircraft without a complete tail section is the Northrop B-35 Flying Wing.
How did the Flying Wing Fly without a Tail?
The B-35, designed by Jack Northrop, was a drastic departure from traditional aircraft designs. It was, as the name suggests, a massive flying wing without a tail section, and although it wasn’t successful, it continues to fascinate and inspire modern aircraft designers. If you want to read an engaging book on the troubled history of the flying wings, click here.
The flying wing, without the use of vertical or horizontal stabilizers, used trim flaps to achieve stable flight. Trim flaps or split flaps are small raised panels on the trailing edge of the plane’s wings. B-35 pilots raised or lowered the flaps to mimic the rudder, elevator, and aileron controls of traditional planes.
The military hoped the sleek flying wing would be a successful and efficient bomber in WWII, but due to budget problems and engineering setbacks, the B-35 missed the war and only flew once in 1948.
Its jet-powered successor, the B-49, made its first flight a year earlier. The military intended the B-49 to fly reconnaissance missions, but the Air Force canceled the plane’s contract in 1953.
If you would like to see a B-49 in action and an explanation of how the trim flaps (called split rudders by the narrator) achieve tailless flight, you can do so in the video below. Although the flying wings weren’t successful aircraft, their designs inspired the creation of one of the most successful and deadly bombers.
How does the Stealth Bomber Fly Without a Tail?
The Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit (or Stealth bomber) is one of the few examples of a modern flying wing. Unlike several prior tailless plane attempts, the B-2 is a smashing success. Although its appearance and dimensions are like the B-49, the B-2 uses advanced computer assistance to stay airborne.
Like the B-49, the stealth bomber uses a split rudder system to control flight, but its fly-by-wire systems monitor the plane’s status and quickly make corrections to maintain stability. Military engineers continue to improve the plane’s advanced systems and capabilities. The B-2 is the only flying wing to stay in combat service for over twenty years. If you’re interested in seeing how it operates, do watch the video of the B-2 below!
Are Tailless planes safe?
The delta-wing design, with the addition of canards, is the most common form of the tailless planes due to its extensive use in Europe and Asia. Like most military aircraft, delta wings require substantial training but aren’t noticeably more dangerous to pilots than traditional designs.
The stealth bomber requires the highest level of training to fly due to its advanced avionics and sophisticated systems.
Less than a hundred pilots have flown the B-2 since its initial 1989 flight, and although it doesn’t have a high crash record, the B-2 is not considered by its pilots as being an easy plane to fly. If you’d like to read a history of the stealth program, this is a good book1
The safest form of tailless planes for pilots was the Boeing (formerly McDonnel Douglas) X-36 Tailless Fighter Agility Research Aircraft. Like today’s military drone pilots, a pilot flew the unmanned plane from a remote location.
Although the X-36 made several successful research flights, the military discontinued the program. Of the two models built, one resides at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. If you’re interested in seeing a very brief X-36 video, do check out the video below!
Are There Advantages to Flying Without Tails?
Early tailless planes, like the B-35 and B-49, were unpredictable and difficult to fly. Northrop struggled to find engineers who could solve engine problems and issues with the hydraulic systems.
The flying wings were lighter, due to their lack of tail sections, than conventional bombers of the 1940s but could not hold a large payload of bombs. The military decided the flying wings were impractical and held no advantages over traditional bombers or reconnaissance planes.
Most of the tailless planes have few advantages over conventional designs. Modern fighters with delta wings are highly maneuverable and capable aircraft, but it’s difficult to pinpoint any specific advantages they have over their American counterparts.
However, the B-2’s advanced systems and tailless design allow it to evade radar. Because of the absence of a fuselage or tail section, the B-2 is harder to spot on radar. It’s also lighter and more aerodynamic without a tail.
Can an Amateur Pilot Fly Tailless Planes Easily?
It’s unlikely that a competent flight instructor would allow an amateur pilot to fly a tailless plane. Conventional planes that include tail sections are the most common and trusted design in the world.
Amateur pilots could eventually fly a delta wing or a stealth bomber, but basic training would only involve flights with standard plane designs. So, if you’re hoping to get your pilot’s license soon, you’re likely to fly with a tail. That’s not so bad since pilots have relied on the design for 117 years.
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