Cruciform tail

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BAe Jetstream 31 with cruciform tail
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BAe Jetstream 31 with cruciform tail

The cruciform tail is an aircraft empennage configuration that, viewed edge-on, looks much like a cross. In this arrangement, the horizontal stabilizer intersects the vertical tail somewhere near the middle, and above the top of the fuselage. Often this arrangement is chosen to keep the tail out of the engines' slipstream or to avoid complex interference drag.

Some recognizable aircraft with cruciform tails are the A-4 Skyhawk, Sud Caravelle, PBY Catalina, and Jetstream 31.

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