AERO 321 Planes (SP26)

Describes the planes mentioned during class and will provide the S&C. Quizzed planes are identified by a "Q". Last updated 5/3/2026.

What plane is this?

Manufacturer: Bell

Designation: P-39

Name: Airacobra

S&C: mid-mounted engine results in neutral stability creating a constant steady-state condition

What plane is this?

Manufacturer: Messerschmitt

Designation: Me 509

Name:

S&C: mid-mounted engine results in neutral stability creating a constant steady-state condition

What plane is this? Q

Manufacturer: Yokosuka

Designation: R2Y1

Name: Keuin

S&C: mid-mounted engine results in neutral stability creating a constant steady-state condition

What plane is this?

Manufacturer: Lockheed

Designation: F-22

Name: Raptor

S&C: Originally designed to have no horizontal tail but was stable due to thrust vectoring; design from General Dynamics, but Lockheed hated the look and implemented the h-stab

What plane is this? Q

Manufacturer: Chengdu

Designation: J-20

Name: Mighty Dragon

S&C:

What plane is this?

Manufacturer: Sukhoi

Designation: Su-57

Name: Felon

S&C:

What plane is this? Q

Manufacturer: Northrop

Designation: SM-62

Name: Snark

S&C: no horizontal tail so no elevator which is required to take off (elevator assists with pitching the nose up and down); solution was to rail launch to become airborne

What plane is this?

Manufacturer: Northrop

Designation: YB-49

Name: Flying Wing

S&C: 4 vertical tails to create yaw stability, statically stable so volumetrically inefficient, split drag rudders → deflection causes yaw, open both at the same time to create speed brake

What plane is this? Q

Manufacturer: Grumman

Designation: X-29A

Name:

S&C: forward swept wing (statically unstable) and canards (ON - statically unstable, OFF - neutral stability)

What plane is this?

Manufacturer: Lockheed

Designation: SR-71

Name: Blackbird

S&C: rudder is hinged leading to an all-moving tail; vertical tails canted in to create low-observability

What plane is this?

Manufacturer: North American

Designation: XB-70

Name: Valkyrie

S&C: delta tail with canted down wingtips to interface with shockwave; highly elastic and violates the rigid body assumption used in the course

What plane is this?

Manufacturer: Boeing

Designation: B-52H

Name: Stratofortress

S&C: wet wing meaning the inside of the wing is a fuel tank; windage tray were input into the wing to prevent sloshing when full throttle; W/O windage trays, CG would shift back causing instability and therefore would violate the constant mass distribution

What plane is this?

Manufacturer: Boeing

Designation: B-47H

Name: Stratojet

S&C:

What plane is this?

Manufacturer: Douglas

Designation: A-4B

Name: Skyhawk

S&C:

What plane is this?

Manufacturer: Messerschmitt

Designation: Bf 109

Name:

S&C: severe gyroscopic coupling during takeoff; rudder was too small - vertical tail highly underdesigned

What plane is this?

Manufacturer: Grumman

Designation: F6F

Name: Hellcat

S&C: severe gyroscopic coupling during takeoff;

What plane is this? Q

Manufacturer: Boeing

Designation: V-22

Name: Osprey

S&C: severe gyroscopic coupling due to the large rotors

What plane is this? Q

Manufacturer: Convair

Designation: B-58A

Name: Hustler

S&C: uses auto throttle on approach due to poor approach stability

What plane is this? Q

Manufacturer: Granville Brothers

Designation:

Name: Gee Bee

S&C: severe gyroscopic coupling, labeled as a “death trap” by pilots who flew it

What plane is this?

Manufacturer: De Havilland

Designation:

Name: Mosquito

S&C: extreme kinematic coupling

What plane is this?

Manufacturer: North American

Designation: F-100

Name: Super Sabre

S&C: 1. poor inertial coupling causing the “sabre dance” during roll, 2. roll only using the rudder because in this case, yaw couples with roll causing a more stable maneuver compared to roll coupled with yaw

What plane is this?

Manufacturer: Piaggio

Designation: P-180

Name: Avanti

S&C: 3 surface configuration — both h tail and canards

What plane is this?

Manufacturer: McDonnel-Douglas

Designation: F/A-18A

Name: Hornet

S&C: wings are aft of the fuselage which causes the fuselage to be more destabilizing

What plane is this?

Manufacturer: Learjet

Designation: 24

Name:

S&C:

What plane is this?

Manufacturer: Lockheed

Designation: F-104A

Name: Starfighter

S&C: unbalanced inertias, anhedral wing to cause less stability bc mid wing position and small sweep angle caused stability to be too large; large wing loading allowing for smooth flight at low altitude

What plane is this?

Manufacturer: Douglas

Designation: X-3

Name: Stiletto

S&C:

What plane is this?

Manufacturer: Savoia-Marchetti

Designation: SM.82

Name: Marsupiale

S&C:

What plane is this?

Manufacturer: Reggiane

Designation: Re.2005

Name: Saggitario

S&C:

What plane is this?

Manufacturer: Lockheed

Designation: L-1011

Name: Tristar

S&C:

What plane is this?

Manufacturer: Panavia

Designation:

Name: Tornado

S&C:

What plane is this?

Manufacturer: Airbus, BAE systems, Leonardo

Designation: Eurofighter

Name: Typhoon

S&C:

What plane is this? Q

Manufacturer: Northrop

Designation: AGM-137

Name: TSSAM

S&C: C_Mo from wind tunnel testing was ignored and led to crash

What plane is this? Q

Manufacturer: Northrop

Designation: F-20

Name: Tigershark

S&C: vertical offset of the engine causing pitch changes with thrust

What plane is this? Q

Manufacturer: North American

Designation: YF-107A

Name: Ultra Sabre

S&C: vertical tail is about ½ wing causing large contribution to dihedral effect, C_l,beta due to vertical tail size

What plane is this?

Manufacturer: McDonnell Douglas

Designation: F-4

Name: Phantom II

S&C: anhedral horizontal tail for better roll stability

What plane is this?

Manufacturer: Bell

Designation: X-1

Name:

S&C: all moving horizontal tail increased elevator effectiveness at transonic and supersonic speeds

What plane is this?

Manufacturer: North American

Designation: A-5A

Name: Vigilante

S&C: all moving vertical tail (no separate rudder) designed for cruise at supersonic speeds

What plane is this?

Manufacturer: Boeing

Designation: 707

Name:

S&C: all moving horizontal tail with a trim tab for small deflections used in pitch control, no elevator

What plane is this?

Manufacturer: British Aerospace

Designation: AV-8

Name: Harrier

S&C: large -C_l,beta from high mounted wing, high wing sweep so anhedral effects of wing were added for +C_l,beta contribution

What plane is this?

Manufacturer: Vought

Designation: F-8

Name: Crusader

S&C: large inboard ailerons because the edge wing panel angles up

What plane is this?

Manufacturer: English Electric

Designation:

Name: Lightning

S&C: highly swept back wings with ailerons perpendicular to the flow for maximum effectiveness

What plane is this? Q

Manufacturer: Grumman

Designation: F11F

Name: Tiger

S&C: no ailerons for roll control because they create adverse yaw, used spoilers instead

What plane is this?

Manufacturer: Northrop

Designation: A-9A

Name:

S&C: generate sideforce without rolling

What plane is this?

Manufacturer: McDonnell Douglas

Designation: XF-85

Name: Goblin

S&C: 7 vertical surfaces to increase S_V due to the short fuselage causing short moment arms

What plane is this?

Manufacturer: Vought

Designation: XF8U-3

Name: Super Crusader

S&C: HUGE ventral fins to contribute to weathercock stability

What plane is this? Q

Manufacturer: General Dynamics

Designation: F-16CJ

Name: Fighting Falcon

S&C: extended inlet which destabilized the weathercock stability (C_n,beta); statically unstable in pitch

What plane is this?

Manufacturer: McDonnell Douglas

Designation: F-15

Name: Eagle

S&C: T.F (tiny, f**king) rudder, rudders are nearly nonexistent since it was not designed to fly at high AoA

What plane is this?

Manufacturer: Douglas

Designation: F4D

Name: Skyray

S&C: split rudder where top half controlled by autopilot and the bottom half is controlled by the pilot

What plane is this? Q

Manufacturer: Northrop

Designation: B-2A

Name: Spirit

S&C: Small wing loading causing large n-per-alpha meaning it flies very well at high altitudes

What plane is this? Q

Manufacturer: General Dynamics

Designation: F-111

Name: Aardvark

S&C: ballast (dead weight in the nose) of 800 pounds

What plane is this?

Manufacturer: Dornier

Designation: Do-335

Name: Pfeil

S&C:

What plane is this?

Manufacturer: Grumman

Designation: F7F

Name: Tigercat

S&C:

What plane is this?

Manufacturer: Boeing

Designation: T-7A

Name: Redhawk

S&C: