Grimace
Well-Known Member
I am trying to do some preliminary sizing of a vertical tail for an ultralight glider. I have the following -
Swing: 143sqft
b: 41.5'
Lvt: 10'
Cvt: .04 (per Raymer)
And it says I need about 24sqft of surface area for the vertical tail. That is ridiculously huge. I looked at other comparable aircraft as best I could and it looks like I'm about twice the size that I would expect. Using the TLAR method, the tail is 1/3rd the size it should be. With the "Well, just make it a smidge smaller than comically huge" method, I am still drastically undersized by about half.
What am I missing? I realize that a 10' Lvt is pretty short, but the vertical tail is 16% of the wing area? Bear in mind, these numbers are approximate. I'm just trying to see if I am in the ballpark... And apparently I am not.
I think I must be off with my maths. Either that, or there must be some trick I'm missing or there's better data for ultralight aircraft and my assumptions based on heavier gliders and aircraft are off. Any thoughts?
Swing: 143sqft
b: 41.5'
Lvt: 10'
Cvt: .04 (per Raymer)
And it says I need about 24sqft of surface area for the vertical tail. That is ridiculously huge. I looked at other comparable aircraft as best I could and it looks like I'm about twice the size that I would expect. Using the TLAR method, the tail is 1/3rd the size it should be. With the "Well, just make it a smidge smaller than comically huge" method, I am still drastically undersized by about half.
What am I missing? I realize that a 10' Lvt is pretty short, but the vertical tail is 16% of the wing area? Bear in mind, these numbers are approximate. I'm just trying to see if I am in the ballpark... And apparently I am not.
I think I must be off with my maths. Either that, or there must be some trick I'm missing or there's better data for ultralight aircraft and my assumptions based on heavier gliders and aircraft are off. Any thoughts?
Last edited: