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When the upper wing of a biplane is ahead of the lower wing the airplane is said to be?
In aviation, stagger is the relative horizontal fore-aft positioning of stacked wings in a biplane, triplane, or multiplane. An aircraft is said to have positive stagger, or simply stagger, when the upper wing is positioned forward of the lower (bottom) wing, Examples include the de Havilland Tiger Moth or Stearman.
Is the angle difference between the upper and lower wings of a biplane?
Decalage on a fixed-wing aircraft is the angle difference between the upper and lower wings of a biplane, i.e. the acute angle contained between the chords of the wings in question. Positive decalage results in greater lift from the upper wing than the lower wing, the difference increasing with the amount of decalage.
What does it mean to move the upper wing forward on a biplane?
Moving the upper wing forward relative to the lower one is called positive stagger or, more often, simply stagger. It can increase lift and reduce drag by reducing the aerodynamic interference effects between the two wings by a small degree, but more often was used to improve access to the cockpit.
How is a Staggerwing different from a biplane?
The Staggerwing has a neat and efficient retractable main gear, that folds onto the lower wing. But the lower wing has to be farther forward than usual for this to work. The two wings on a biplane interfere with each other, but the biplane structure is very strong and stiff for its weight.
Why are there two wings on a biplane?
The two wings on a biplane interfere with each other, but the biplane structure is very strong and stiff for its weight. So the Staggerwing’s design gives up some wing efficiency for strength and light weight.
Why does a biplane have a smaller span than a monoplane?
A biplane wing of the same area as a monoplane has a smaller span and/or chord, reducing the structural forces and allowing it to be lighter. Biplanes suffer aerodynamic interference between the two planes when the high pressure air under the top wing and the low pressure air above the lower wing cancel each other out.