IS THIS A STEALTH PLANE? – October 12, 2018

Looking at the image above, we have to say, with the Lamborghini Grey paint over carbon fiber, our tail boom with lower ventral fins poking up look amazingly like the back end of a modern stealth fighter jet. No, we do not fly 600 mph and we are not invisible to radar, however, the stealth planes don’t drive, either. The image below is of the tail boom upside down, so the lower ventral fins are sticking up in a V reminiscent of the tail of a F22. Normally, those tail fins will be pointing downward from the tail boom, and are there to provide extra stability in flight.

Every plane has a certain amount of stability, and depending on the mission (whether it is training, fun flying, cross country, or a war plane), there is a certain amount of stability that is desired to be designed into it. A trainer will be designed to be very stable and tolerant of errant pilot input. An aerobatic plane or war plane are actually designed to be unstable and hard to control, as you want the ability to make it dive, twist, and flick around more than you want it to stay straight and level.

Our mission is high speed cross-country, so we want a moderate amount of stability. Wind tunnel testing showed us that we were just shy of our mark, and so the ventral fins were added to provide that extra margin of safety.