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Questions tagged [biplane]

Airplane with 2 wings stacked on top of each other.

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How does distance between wings of a biplane affect its horizontal stabilizer design?

When for instance pitching down, a biplane's upper wing has higher airspeed than lower wing, therefore higher drag that should dampen the pitching down rate. How significant is this, if it is, ...
jkztd's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
137 views

Is this method to calculate a biplane's center of gravity using 57% of the biplane's gap and 23% of each wing's MAC correct?

Once you have the MAC for both wings and the CG balance point as a percentage of the MAC. connect the two CG positions with a line. Measure up between the wing Gap distance and place your center of ...
Wally's user avatar
  • 11
3 votes
1 answer
208 views

Can someone identify this biplane from 1920-21 taken in Arkansas?

Can someone identify this biplane? It was taken in late 1920 or early 1921 when my grandfather was barnstorming in Arkansas. My grandmother and aunts are also in the photos. Additionally, can someone ...
Bill Shaffer's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
84 views

Human powered biplane for maximum endurance

Biplanes have lower minimum power and material strength demands. However these slow planes have worse glide ratios and thus distance-based fuel consumption. Today with high performance engines and ...
Kevin Kostlan's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
357 views

What biplane of the Army Air Reserve is in this picture?

This is the second example of the biplanes they flew. Can anyone identify this biplane flown by the 476th pursuit squadron "The Black Falcons" of the 322rd pursuit group of the Army Air ...
Bill Shaffer's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
223 views

Can anyone identify this Biplane flown Army Air Reserve stationed at Clover Field, Santa Monica, California in mid the 1920's?

Can anyone identify this biplane flown by the 476th pursuit squadron "The Black Falcons" of the 322rd pursuit group of the Army Air Reserve stationed at Clover Field, Santa Monica, ...
Bill Shaffer's user avatar
8 votes
2 answers
349 views

Can anyone identify this biplane in 1940s Orange, MA?

The picture was taken at Orange Municipal Airport in Orange, MA, in the 1940's. I can't identify the logo either.
Mola Ram's user avatar
17 votes
3 answers
2k views

Can anyone identify this crashed Swallow biplane?

Can anyone identify the model of this Swallow biplane? On August 14, 1929, my great grandfather, Humphrey Woods, was fatally injured in the crash of a plane piloted by Thomas Tobiason. The plane was ...
Steve's user avatar
  • 171
9 votes
4 answers
439 views

Take-off and landing a Waco Standard Cabin QDC

I'm sure you hear it all the time: Someone's writing a book and want to know how to fly a plane. I'm no different in that regard. However, I have a specific plane: a Waco Standard Cabin QDC, 1931. ...
Noelle Alexandria's user avatar
14 votes
1 answer
443 views

Can anyone identify this biplane with distinct wind screen?

I'm trying to identify the aircraft in this photo of my great grandfather. The photo would have been taken during the mid to late 1920s, possibly early 1930s. He lived in Utah (not sure this helps?). ...
ArtofCory's user avatar
  • 141
4 votes
2 answers
395 views

What is this biplane from an old photo?

Can anyone identify this biplane.
Tom Vesely's user avatar
24 votes
1 answer
3k views

Can you identify this 1920s or 30s biplane?

Can you identify this aircraft from the 1920s or 30s I think? On the back of the photo it says “Taken at Nanking, after flying from Hong Kong to Shanghai”. I don’t know who the pilot is. My ...
Andrew Jackson's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
467 views

What justifies a biplane over a braced monoplane?

Biplanes became the first airplanes to enter service due to their structurally efficient design being more suitable for the weak materials then. This efficiency comes from the two wings acting as the ...
Abdullah's user avatar
  • 3,518
11 votes
1 answer
1k views

Identify this USAAF biplane

I have been unable to match this USAAF biplane with a similar photo mainly due to the cockpit canopy. I've found no other like it. I believe the photo was taken at Madison, WI or Chicago, IL in the ...
FreshBreeze's user avatar
  • 1,211
14 votes
4 answers
4k views

Why are/were there almost no tricycle-gear biplanes?

A friend recently asked me: are there any tricycle-gear biplanes? After hunting around, we found the Waco AVN-8, but that's all. This causes me to ask: is there an aerodynamic or other design ...
Jemenake's user avatar
  • 299
2 votes
4 answers
411 views

Wing dihedral in a biplane

Would a biplane be able to fly if the upper and lower wings were in opposite dihedral? Imagine a wing configuration similar to the fictional "X-wing" design from StarWars. What would be the ...
skanga's user avatar
  • 165
33 votes
1 answer
4k views

What is the make and model of this biplane?

This photo is of one of my friend's great grandfather: We wish to commemorate a museum in his name as he was a highly regarded person in his area, so we wish to show this photo in the museum with ...
Preet's user avatar
  • 333
4 votes
1 answer
2k views

Can anyone identify this biplane from a TV show?

Could someone help identify this biplane from a TV show, please? No other scene / camera angle is available though.
TJP's user avatar
  • 251
1 vote
1 answer
210 views

What was the lift-to-drag ratio for WWI biplanes?

I will be interested to know what was the lift-to-drag ration for a few more known WWI biplanes at take-off, cruise and landing speed; with the propeller running, stopped or non existent (tests in ...
klausweber's user avatar
24 votes
1 answer
4k views

What is this strut in biplane rigging, attached only to wires, not bearing any load?

A few biplanes like the Stearman have a strut parallel to the fuselage, halfway along the rigging's landing wires and flying wires, not fastened to the airframe, not bearing any obvious load. One on ...
Camille Goudeseune's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
188 views

Would supersonic bi/tri/multiplane wings have less lift interference drag than a subsonic version?

Biplane wings interfere with each other, reducing the total lift often to about only 20% more than a mono wing of the same chord and span. But at supersonic speeds - say, Mach 2, where Mach angle is ...
Abdullah's user avatar
  • 3,518
0 votes
2 answers
291 views

Does bi-wings create essentially double the uplift as single wings?

This puzzles me a bit, and I cannot find the answer anywhere. Does bi-wings create essentially double the uplift as single wings?
Will's user avatar
  • 1
10 votes
1 answer
508 views

Can anyone identify this biplane from 1920s-1930s?

It was my grandfather's, but he is no longer around to ask. He lived in Nebraska.
Russell Francis's user avatar
16 votes
3 answers
6k views

Why does wingwalking use only biplanes?

Wingwalking is an aerobatic discipline with shows such as this one. The definition of wingwalking from Wikipedia gives no other alternative than using biplanes: Wing walking is the act of moving ...
Manu H's user avatar
  • 16.4k
5 votes
1 answer
711 views

Can anyone identify this plane?

Can anyone please help me identify this biplane? The photo was taken in Newcastle, NSW, Australia. I can’t seem to find anything.
Steve Bartlett's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
285 views

Would it be a good idea to use dihedral on a biplane?

My engineering class uses model plane kits to build "frankenflyers" which use parts from multiple model planes to make one plane that will carry a maximum load (pennies). I was wondering what the best ...
John's user avatar
  • 31
16 votes
2 answers
2k views

What is this RAF biplane, and where was the photo taken (possibly in the 1920s)?

My grandfather is in the middle row. He joined the RAF as a boy entrant in 1920. He served in Iraq 1924-27 and India 1927-29 so I suspect by the uniforms this is from one of those postings.
tim091's user avatar
  • 341
3 votes
1 answer
217 views

Would a 2nd row of distributed props on a 2nd staggered wing of a biplane increase its efficiency?

Would a 2nd row of distributed props on the rearward wing of a biplane with 25% gap and 150% negative stagger increase the efficiency of a biplane ULTRALIGHT, 25MPH, Re 500K? ( rear wing is 25% lower ...
Fred's user avatar
  • 1,029
7 votes
2 answers
527 views

What kind of antique WWI aircraft model is this? Inventor's prototype?

I've discovered an interesting WWI era model of an aircraft and I am trying to find out what could it be. It is 29" long and it looks like not a hobby model, but an inventor's prototype. I love the ...
Romak's user avatar
  • 81
4 votes
1 answer
363 views

Is the "wing area" of a biplane the projected area or the total area?

When you specify the wing area of a biplane, do you specify the planform area (the projected area) or do you specify the effective area of both the wings?
Gaurav's user avatar
  • 103
5 votes
2 answers
456 views

What is the function of cross bracing of interplane strut?

Pic 1 is the top and lower wing of a biplane called Bloop Ultralight,what is the function of the cross bracing between the interplane struts as seen in pic 1(I'm not talking about landing and flying ...
Jessica Ham's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
617 views

Can anyone identify this biplane?

This biplane from the 1930s is from an English airshow. Can anyone identify it?
Phil S's user avatar
  • 143
7 votes
1 answer
1k views

Can anyone help identify this old 1930s plane?

I would like to identify this plane, if anyone can help? All I can tell you is that it is from an old photo album and probably an English Airshow in the 1920's or 1930's.
Phil S's user avatar
  • 143
6 votes
2 answers
529 views

Any biplane flying wings after 1914?

Were any biplane flying wings built and flown after the 1912-1914 variants of the Dunne D.8? If not, why? Wikipedia mentions merely that this type was too stable and insufficiently controllable, but ...
Camille Goudeseune's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
147 views

Why are no HAPS (High Altitude Platform Station) solar planes of a biplane design?

HAPS are fragile due to weight constaints, e.g. NASA’s Helios. Biplanes are more robust. Although biplanes have high drag, HAPS only need to move slowly because at their operating height the wind ...
Desmond Campbell's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
1k views

What is the function of interplane strut of a Biplane?

What kind of load does the interplane strut(s) carry,is it compression, tension or shear? In order words,what's their function and how do you calculate the force that the interplane strut carries?
Jessica Ham's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
417 views

Compression and tension members of a biplane wing

I get why the upper wing of a biplane is a compression member (because the flying wire is attached to it at an angle) but what I fail to understand is why the lower wing is the tension member of a ...
Jessica Ham's user avatar
2 votes
4 answers
978 views

How does the "pendulum effect" affect biplanes?

A high wing airplane will correct itself (lateral stability) when disturbed because its c.g. is below the c.p. (looking at the plane from it's side), according to this forum post and the book below. ...
Jessica Ham's user avatar
8 votes
1 answer
994 views

Lift distribution on biplanes

This Wikipedia page about biplanes says in a wing of aspect ratio 6, and a wing separation distance of one chord length, the biplane configuration will only produce about 20 percent more lift than ...
Jessica Ham's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
643 views

What is the make and model of this plane?

I came across this picture taken in the late 1920s. Could you please help identify the make and model of this plane. Thanks.
user40892's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
257 views

Which aircraft is this?

I was curious if someone could help me gather some more info on this aircraft. I have looked it up in the FAA.GOV site and it does not match. Is there a way to find out info on this plane that flew ...
Justin's user avatar
  • 21
4 votes
1 answer
658 views

What's this biplane built by a 16-year old?

I was told that this plane was built by a 16-year old in the 90s. Ever since, I've been bent on finding the specifications, name, etc., of this airplane with no success.
David Teahay's user avatar
  • 2,895
31 votes
2 answers
10k views

Has a commercial or military jet bi-plane ever been manufactured?

Are there any, or have there ever been any commercial/military jet bi-planes? What would be some of the major advantages vs disadvantages if one was built? Electric radio controlled ducted fan model. ...
jwzumwalt's user avatar
  • 11.3k
2 votes
2 answers
372 views

Do any Waco aircraft have model names?

Many aircraft manufacturers give names to the aircraft models. Piper had the Cub, Super Cub, and all the Comanche/Cherokee/Navajo/etc. names used in branding. Cessna has the Skyhawk, Skylane, etc. ...
dreyv's user avatar
  • 21
2 votes
1 answer
404 views

What is this biplane from an old photograph?

Copyright photo by Real Photographs No 334
Ken's user avatar
  • 179
45 votes
3 answers
8k views

Was the Space Shuttle aerodynamically neutral while piggybacking, or did the combination act like a giant biplane?

Trying to investigate this question, I see that 'Ask the Captain' says: The weight of the shuttle is calculated like any payload. The 747 produces enough lift to fly and to carry the weight of ...
Party Ark's user avatar
  • 10.2k
0 votes
0 answers
128 views

Why did biplanes and triplanes go away? [duplicate]

Why did multi-wing aircraft (two or three stacked wings) eventually fade off to single-wing aircraft?
Jon's user avatar
  • 1,413
11 votes
2 answers
2k views

Can you identify this plane from 1920 and prior vintage?

My grand uncle, that is my grandfather's brother had a flight school and performed in barnstorming shows somewhere in the midwest and it's not a Jenny. His name was Ralph Bloxham and is seen with his ...
David Bloxham's user avatar
40 votes
5 answers
10k views

Why do most biplanes have their top wing slightly forward of the lower wing?

In most of the biplanes, the top wing is located a little forward of the lower wing. What is the use of this? Also, how does this affect stability of the aircraft.
Vinodh Raaj's user avatar
8 votes
2 answers
705 views

Were there any folding wing biplanes?

Given that several nations had operational carriers by 1920 and biplanes were still in military service, were there any folding wing biplanes? Wikipedia: United States first purpose built aircraft ...
jwzumwalt's user avatar
  • 11.3k