Inertia coupling

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Inertia coupling is a potentially lethal phenomenon of high-speed flight in which the inertia of the heavier fuselage overpowers the aerodynamic stabilizing forces of the wing and tail. The first two production aircraft to overtly experience this phenomenon, the F-100 and F-102, were modified to increase wing and tail area and were fitted with augmented control systems. To enable pilot control during dynamic motion maneuvers, for instance, the tail area of the F-102A was increased 40%. Inertia coupling killed pilot Mel Apt in the Bell X-2 and nearly killed Chuck Yeager in the X-1A.