Caltech Wins NASA Award for Active Flow Control Tailfin
Research suggests vertical tails could be made smaller, thus reducing drag and weight.

Researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and the University of Arizona received a NASA group achievement award for a full-scale wind-tunnel test that proved the feasibility of active flow control. The system has been designed to blow air on the tailfin surface, making it more effective at low speed and enabling the vertical empennage to be smaller.