Pusher Configuration - Advantages

Advantages

Practical requirements

Placing the cockpit forward of the wing to balance the weight of the engine(s) aft improves visibility for the crew. Similarly any front armament can be used more easily.

The absence of front engine allows special equipment (radar, AUV cameras) to be efficiently installed in the fuselage nose.

Consequently, this configuration was widely used for early combat aircraft, and remains popular today among ultralight aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and FPV radio-controlled planes.

Aircraft where the engine is carried by, or very close to, the pilot (such as paramotors, powered parachutes, autogyros, and flexwing trikes) place the engine behind the pilot to minimise the danger to the pilot's arms and legs.

Aerodynamics

A pusher may have a shorter fuselage and hence a reduction in both fuselage wetted area and weight.

In contrast to tractor layout, a pusher propeller at the end of the fuselage is stabilizing. A pusher needs less stabilizing vertical tail area and hence presents less weathercock effect; at takeoff roll it is generally less sensitive to crosswind.

When there is no tail within the slipstream, unlike a tractor there is no rotating propwash around the fuselage inducing a side force to the fin. At takeoff, a canard pusher pilot does not have to apply rudder input to balance this moment.

Efficiency can be gained by mounting a propeller behind the fuselage, because it re-energizes the boundary layer developed on the body, and reduces the form drag by keeping the flow attached to the fuselage. However, it is usually a minor gain compared to the airframe's detrimental effect on propeller efficiency. Also, this effect is not nearly as pronounced on an airplane as it is on a ship, due to the higher Reynolds number at which aircraft operate.

Wing profile drag may be reduced due to the absence of prop-wash over any section of the wing.

Safety

The engine is mounted behind the crew and passenger compartments, so fuel does not have to flow past personnel; any leak will vent behind the aircraft, and any engine fire will be directed behind the aircraft (however, this arrangement puts the empennage at greater risk—if there is one—but this is less of an issue if the fire occurs at the time of, or as a consequence of, landing). Similarly, propeller failure is less likely to directly endanger the crew.

Leaks of fuel, oil or coolant from the engine stream away from the aircraft instead of becoming a risk to the pilot, other occupants, and any whole-aircraft parachute installation.

In case of a crash or crash-landing, fuel and oil in the aft engine area are less likely to be a fire hazard and high-energy propeller fragments are less likely to enter the cabin area.

At the time when many military aircraft were pushers, the engine afforded some rear protection to the pilot.

A pusher ducted fan system offers a supplementary safety feature attributed to enclosing the rotating fan in the duct, therefore making it an attractive option for various advanced unmanned air vehicle configurations or for small/personal air vehicles or for aircraft models