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Aviation glossary

T-tail

Also: T tail, T-tailed aircraft

The aircraft

Tail 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.

What it is

Mounting the tailplane at the top of the fin lifts it clear of the wing's wake and the engine exhaust, and frees the rear fuselage to carry the engines. It is the layout of the Boeing 727, the Douglas DC-9 and MD-80 family, the Fokker 100 and the CRJ and ERJ 145 regional jets. Turboprops such as the ATR 72 and the Dash 8 use it too.

The trade-off is structural: the fin must carry the weight and loads of the tailplane, so it is usually heavier. At very high angles of attack, the wing's wake can also blanket the tailplane and reduce its effectiveness, a phenomenon known as deep stall. T-tailed aircraft are therefore designed and certified to avoid it, and many carry a stick pusher that prevents the aircraft from reaching that condition.

On Vuelopedia

Boeing 727 Bombardier CRJ ATR 42 / 72

Related terms

EmpennageTail assembly of an aircraft, made up of the horizontal and vertical stabilisers and their control surfaces, providing stability and control. Horizontal stabiliserHorizontal tail surface that keeps an aircraft stable in pitch and, on most jet airliners, pivots through a few degrees to trim it. ElevatorMovable surface on the trailing edge of the horizontal stabiliser that raises or lowers the nose, controlling the aircraft's pitch attitude. Regional aircraftSmaller passenger aircraft, typically with about 30 to 100 seats, designed for short routes and airports with modest traffic.
Whole glossary

Cite

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This page was last updated on October 9, 2026

APA

Vuelopedia. (2026, October 9). T-tail. Retrieved October 16, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/t-tail

MLA

“T-tail.” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 9 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/t-tail. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Vuelopedia. “T-tail.” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 9, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/t-tail.

Harvard

Vuelopedia (2026) T-tail. Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/t-tail (Accessed: 16 October 2026).

BibTeX

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

Wikipedia

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

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