Tail-heavy loading can cause instability about which axis?

• A. It can cause instability about the lateral axis
• B. It reduces roll rate
• C. It improves elevator response
• D. It increases drag

Answer: (A)

Tail-heavy loading shifts the center of gravity toward the tail, reducing the aircraft’s ability to restore its pitch attitude. Pitch is the rotation about the lateral axis, so when the CG moves aft, the aircraft tends to become unstable in pitch. This makes it harder to maintain or recover from nose-up/nose-down disturbances, which is the essence of instability about the lateral axis. The other effects aren’t the primary consequence: stability about the roll axis isn’t directly driven by tail weight, and tail heaviness doesn’t inherently improve elevator response or increase drag as the main issue.