The vertical and horizontal stabilizers, or tail, of an airplane is located at the end of the plane. They are called stabilizers because they balance the aircraft in flight. The vertical stabilizer is on the top of the tail, and the horizontal stabilizers are on the sides. On some aircraft the horizontal stabilizer is part of the wings.

     Imagine the airplane like a see-saw. The wings are the piece that hold the airplane up. If the back, or front is to heavy, then the airplane will tip over and smash into the ground. Now imagine that you put another support on one end of the see-saw. When you sit on it, the see-saw wont move. The tail is like the extra support. Without the tail, the airplanes wouldn't fly.