Ed Rasimus wrote:

On Thu, 12 Feb 2004 21:16:48 -0000, "Jim Doyle"
wrote:

Hello all,

Just a quick question - do any aircraft have slats installed on the leading
edge of the horizontal tailplane?

Rather like slats would be used on the main wing section but - instead of
providing helpful lift - they're just to counter a very large pitching
moment on approach when wing-mounted high lift devices are deployed.


Can't comment on slats, which implys to me moveable. But, the F-4E at
slots on the horizontal tailplane--fixed sections about two inches
extended from the leading edge of the tailplane sections and running
the entire length.

The slotted slab was one of the mods necessary to compensate for the
longer nose and forward weight addition of the gun. A #7 fuel cell was
added in the tail cone to increase extreme aft weight and the fixed
slots were added to the tail plane to provide increased aerodynamic
downforce to counter the nose gun.

Ed, I tend to doubt the extra forward weight was responsible for the fixed
inverted slot (not slat) on the tail, as the navy's F-4J, with the short nose
and No.7 tank, also had it from the beginning, indeed before the F-4E entered
service. The F-4J also removed the inboard section of the LEFs and had drooped
ailerons, so that may have had something to do with it, but I'm cross-posting
this to r.a.m.n. to see if anyone over there knows why.

Guy