A Study on Flight Mechanics of Tailless Aircraft

Abstract

Flying Wings or Tailless aircraft are fixed-wing aircraft defined by their lack of a definite or pronounced fuselage and absolute absence empennage. Jack Northrop defined these aircraft as ’A type of airplane in which all of the functions of a satisfactory flying machine are disposed and accommodated within the outline of the airfoil itself’. These aircraft are designed specifically to make best use of the aerodynamics effects of the wing design in order to reduce induced drag due to inclusion of empennage in the airframe and tail section vortices.