Twin-boom tail — dimension sheet
Source: Xem Studio, https://xemstudio.com/objects/twin-boom-tail/  (sheet CC BY 4.0; files Xem Studio Design License, https://xemstudio.com/license/)
Basis: Design rules and figures from the cited sources; example geometry by Xem Studio
Catalog version: 2026-10-20

Sizes: see table below
- A twin-boom layout carries the tail on two booms instead of a fuselage, usually with an H-tail joining them; Bhattacharya et al. note the added weight of twin booms and propwash drag on the tail.
- The FAA notes pusher propellers suffer more damage than tractors because of lower ground clearance (FAA Powerplant Handbook), and booms leave the space behind a central nacelle open for one.
- The P-38 is the classic example; NASM describes it as a 'twin-tail boom and twin-engine fighter'.
- Used on: Lockheed P-38 Lightning.
- The file is a reference example built by Xem Studio from the numbers above. Sizes the sources do not fix are illustrative; scale the example to your own vehicle.

parameter  value or range  source
Tail sizing  tail volume as conventional (Vh 0.50 / Vv 0.04 homebuilt)  HAW Hamburg Table 2.1
Reference build  boom length 500 mm, H-tail Sh 40,000 mm^2  computed

Files elsewhere (not hosted by Xem Studio; license as stated by the publisher):
- Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum: Lockheed P-38J-10-LO Lightning — web — Publisher's page; dimensions are facts — https://www.si.edu/object/nasm_A19600295000
- engrXiv (Bhattacharya et al., ICMMM 2023): Design and Computational Analysis of Y-tail Configuration for Maritime UAV — web — Publisher's page; dimensions are facts — https://engrxiv.org/preprint/download/6582/10812/9153
- FAA: Aviation Maintenance Technician Handbook - Powerplant, Ch. 7 Propellers — web — Publisher's page; dimensions are facts — https://www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/09_amtp_ch7.pdf
- HAW Hamburg (Aircraft Design and Systems Group): Empennage sizing: tail lever arm as % of fuselage length (thesis; Table 2.1 typical tail volume coefficients) — web — Publisher's page; dimensions are facts — https://www.fzt.haw-hamburg.de/pers/Scholz/arbeiten/TextMcDavid.pdf

Free files (Xem Studio Design License, Xem Studio; STEP + STL, 1 parts): https://xemstudio.com/files/hardware/twin-boom-tail/index.json
API: https://xemstudio.com/api/geometry?object=twin-boom-tail