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Aviation glossary

Horizontal stabiliser

Also: tailplane, horizontal stabilizer, THS

The aircraft

Horizontal tail surface that keeps an aircraft stable in pitch and, on most jet airliners, pivots through a few degrees to trim it.

What it is

The horizontal stabiliser provides stability in pitch, the nose-up and nose-down motion. On most aircraft the centre of gravity lies ahead of the point where the wing's lift acts, so the stabiliser normally produces a small downward force that balances the aircraft.

The elevators are hinged to its trailing edge. On most jet airliners the whole stabiliser can also pivot through a few degrees, driven by a motor and jackscrew, to trim the aircraft, so that neither the pilots nor the autopilot have to hold the elevators deflected. Airbus calls it the THS, or trimmable horizontal stabiliser.

Some aircraft carry fuel in the tailplane. The Airbus A330 and A340 transfer fuel into it during cruise to move the centre of gravity aft and reduce drag.

On Vuelopedia

Airbus A330 Airbus A340

Related terms

EmpennageTail assembly of an aircraft, made up of the horizontal and vertical stabilisers and their control surfaces, providing stability and control. ElevatorMovable surface on the trailing edge of the horizontal stabiliser that raises or lowers the nose, controlling the aircraft's pitch attitude. T-tailTail layout in which the horizontal stabiliser sits on top of the fin, so that seen from the front or rear the assembly forms a letter T. AutopilotSystem that holds or changes an aircraft's flight path, altitude, heading and vertical speed according to values selected by the crew.
Whole glossary

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This page was last updated on October 9, 2026

APA

Vuelopedia. (2026, October 9). Horizontal stabiliser. Retrieved October 16, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/horizontal-stabiliser

MLA

“Horizontal stabiliser.” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 9 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/horizontal-stabiliser. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Vuelopedia. “Horizontal stabiliser.” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 9, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/horizontal-stabiliser.

Harvard

Vuelopedia (2026) Horizontal stabiliser. Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/horizontal-stabiliser (Accessed: 16 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{vuelopedia_en_glossary_horizontal_stabiliser,
  author       = {{Vuelopedia}},
  title        = {{Horizontal stabiliser}},
  publisher    = {Fundación Poderia},
  year         = {2026},
  date         = {2026-10-09},
  url          = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/horizontal-stabiliser},
  howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/horizontal-stabiliser}},
  urldate      = {2026-10-16},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-10-16}
}

Wikipedia

{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/horizontal-stabiliser |title=Horizontal stabiliser |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-09 |access-date=2026-10-16 |language=en}}

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