Definition
An empennage configuration in which the horizontal stabilizer is mounted directly to the aft fuselage at the base of the vertical fin, with the elevator trailing the horizontal stabilizer and the rudder trailing the vertical fin. This is the most common tail arrangement on general aviation aircraft.
Plain English
The standard tail layout: a vertical fin sticking up from the back of the fuselage, with the horizontal stabilizer attached low at its base, forming a cross or plus-sign shape when viewed from behind.
Context Anchor
Seen when comparing airplane tail designs, during aircraft familiarization, and when identifying the tail surfaces during preflight inspection.
Derivation
"Conventional" comes from the Latin convenire, meaning "to come together" or "agreed upon." In aviation it simply means "the usual, agreed-upon way of doing it." A conventional tail is the layout most aircraft have used since the early days of flight, so it became the baseline against which other designs (T-tail, V-tail, etc.) are compared.
Why Pilots Care
This layout gives predictable pitch and yaw response and is the baseline most pilots first learn on.
Intuition Check
Conventional does not mean “old-fashioned” here. It means the standard tail arrangement most people picture on a typical airplane.
Example Sentence 1
The Cessna 172 has a conventional tail, with the horizontal stabilizer attached to the rear fuselage below the vertical fin.
Example Sentence 2
When moving from a conventional tail trainer to a T-tail aircraft, the pilot notices a longer moment arm on the elevator.