Empennage Construction Overview

The empennage, or tail, consists of four basic structures; the horizontal stabilizer, the vertical stabilizer, the rudder, and the right and left elevators. It all makes sense to me but in case you're not into airplanes (yet) or at least not into building them, here's an overview of what's involved.

Construction starts with horizontal stabilizer. This part is installed to create an aerodynamic tension with the wings. The wings most of the lift, the horizontal stabilizer is installed so it'll push down a little and since the center of gravity of the plane is between the two (much closer to the center of lift created by the wings) there's inherent stability. the horizontal stabilizer supports the elevators which are controlled by the pilot with the 'stick' and are used to point the nose up and down. The vertical stabilizer supports the rudder and provide yaw stability. The rudder provides yaw control and when used with the ailerons provides the ability to make coordinated turns.

All of the parts use similar construction techniques. All have at least one spar (the horizontal stabilizer has a front and rear spar) and most have ribs which support the skin and provide form and strength. The elevators and the rudder have stiffeners which are just aluminum angles that attach to just one side of the skin to stiffen it. All of the parts are riveted together with aluminum rivets.