Lodestar tail

Milairjunkie

Looking at the few pictures I can find, it looks like the split vertical rudder has free travel in either direction over the tailplane thanks to the fixed section of the tailplane which extends from the rounded outer section & "through" the rudder ending in a diagonal that corresponds with the maximum inwards deflection of the rudder - have I got a handle on this & does that make any sense?

In this picture, you can see the outer, fixed tailplane - but if you look inwards toward the left of the picture you will see what looks like a nick in the rear edge of the tailplane, this is where the outer, fixed non moving part ends & the inner moving section begins;

 

Oh, that is a great picture!  Much better than any I found.  That picture shows the cutout is actually longer than the width of the horizontal stab.  That would allow it to turn.  The pictures I had looked like the slot was only as long as the stab, so it could rotate outward, since the outboard end to the stab was rounded, but not inboard.  The longer slot your pic shows, explains it.

Looking at the few pictures I can find, it looks like the split vertical rudder has free travel in either direction over the tailplane thanks to the fixed section of the tailplane which extends from the rounded outer section & "through" the rudder ending in a diagonal that corresponds with the maximum inwards deflection of the rudder - have I got a handle on this & does that make any sense?

In this picture, you can see the outer, fixed tailplane - but if you look inwards toward the left of the picture you will see what looks like a nick in the rear edge of the tailplane, this is where the outer, fixed non moving part ends & the inner moving section begins;