This is pretty neat. Anyone who has experience with aircraft design knows that tails are heavily constrained by various takeoff and landing performance based requirements. Cruise is never a problem. VMC-induced limitations and 61 knots takeoff are some examples. So if you can remove these particular issues, the tail can be a lot smaller and more efficient.
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Sweeping air devices for greener planes
(10/21/14, J. Stoller-Conrad, Physdotorg) The large amount of jet fuel required to fly an airplane from point A to point B can have negative impacts on the environment and—as higher fuel costs contribute to rising ticket prices—a traveler's wallet. With funding from NASA and the Boeing Company, engineers from the Division of Engineering and Applied Science at Caltech and their collaborators from the University of Arizona have developed a device that lets planes fly with much smaller tails, reducing the planes' overall size and weight, thus increasing fuel efficiency. On October 8, the researchers—including Emilio Graff, research project manager in aerospace at Caltech and a leader on the project—were presented with a NASA Group Achievement Award "for exceptional achievement executing a full-scale wind-tunnel test, proving the flight feasibility of active flow control." An airplane's tail forms a critical part of the control system that helps steer the plane during flying. During flight, air rushes around the vertical tail with great force and is deflected by the tail's rudder—a moveable flap at the rear of the tail that can steer the plane by angling air to the left or right. By moving the rudder left or right, a pilot can move the air in one direction or the other, helping to keep the plane flying straight during a strong crosswind. During the high speeds of flight, the air flow around the tail is so strong that the rudder can control the plane's path with minimal movement. However, during the lower speeds of takeoff and landing, larger rudder deflections are required to maneuver the plane. And in the case of engine failure in a multiengine airplane, the vertical tail must generate enough force to keep the plane going straight by turning "against" the working engine. Airplane manufacturers deal with this challenge by fitting planes with very large vertical tails that can deflect enough air and generate enough force to control the plane—even at low speeds... Sweeping air devices for greener planes