Instead of a traditional tail plane pushing down for stability, this forward-mounted airfoil lifts the nose up. It prevents main wing stalls because it is designed to lose lift first, naturally dropping the nose to regain airspeed. Aerospace engineers use them on fighter jets to increase maneuverability and on efficient composite cruisers to reduce overall drag.
Heard on the job
The canard generates positive lift in cruise, which makes the whole airframe much more efficient.
Also heard as
- foreplane