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81-521: The Grumman G-164 Ag Cat is a single-engined biplane agricultural aircraft , developed by Grumman in the 1950s. In 1955, Grumman preliminary design engineers Joe Lippert and Arthur Koch proposed the design for a "purpose-built" crop-dusting airplane as a means of fulfilling a pressing need in the agricultural community, as well as the perceived need for Grumman to diversify its product lines. The initial market survey indicated that 100 to 200 of this type could be sold each year. Lippert's initial proposal

162-653: A W shape cabane, however as it does not connect the wings to each other, it does not add to the number of bays. Large transport and bombing biplanes often needed still more bays to provide sufficient strength. These are often referred to as multi-bay biplanes . A small number of biplanes, such as the Zeppelin-Lindau D.I have no interplane struts and are referred to as being strutless . Because most biplanes do not have cantilever structures, they require rigging wires to maintain their rigidity. Early aircraft used simple wire (either braided or plain), however during

243-412: A biplane aircraft, two wings are placed one above the other. Each provides part of the lift, although they are not able to produce twice as much lift as a single wing of similar size and shape because the upper and the lower are working on nearly the same portion of the atmosphere and thus interfere with each other's behaviour. In a biplane configuration with no stagger from the upper wing to the lower wing,

324-778: A collision. Lippert and Koch were recognized for their innovation in agricultural aircraft, being awarded the Puffer Award by Delta Air Lines in 1974. Floats were approved for the aircraft in the early 1990s in Australia. Mississippi Ag Museum, Jackson, MS - G-164 Ag Cat, serial X-1 Data from Jane's Civil and Military Aircraft Upgrades 1994–95 General characteristics Performance Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Related lists Biplane Biplanes offer several advantages over conventional cantilever monoplane designs: they permit lighter wing structures, low wing loading and smaller span for

405-624: A documented jet-kill, as one Lockheed F-94 Starfire was lost while slowing down to 161 km/h (100 mph) – below its stall speed – during an intercept in order to engage the low flying Po-2. Later biplane trainers included the de Havilland Tiger Moth in the Royal Air Force (RAF), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and others and the Stampe SV.4 , which saw service postwar in the French and Belgian Air Forces. The Stearman PT-13

486-513: A faster and more comfortable successor to the Dragon. As the available engine power and speed increased, the drag penalty of external bracing increasingly limited aircraft performance. To fly faster, it would be necessary to reduce external bracing to create an aerodynamically clean design; however, early cantilever designs were either too weak or too heavy. The 1917 Junkers J.I sesquiplane utilized corrugated aluminum for all flying surfaces, with

567-479: A full-sized example at the end of 1912. Experimental tandem-wing aircraft continued to be built after World War I. The Caproni Ca.60 prototype flying boat comprised a long passenger-carrying hull to which were attached in tandem three stacks of triplane wings from the successful Ca.4 line of heavy bombers and airliners, earning it the nickname "Capronissimo". However it broke up on its first attempted takeoff in 1921. The first fully controllable tandem-wing type

648-422: A given wing area. However, interference between the airflow over each wing increases drag substantially, and biplanes generally need extensive bracing, which causes additional drag. Biplanes are distinguished from tandem wing arrangements, where the wings are placed forward and aft, instead of above and below. The term is also occasionally used in biology , to describe the wings of some flying animals . In

729-643: A gulled forward wing and twin fins on the tips of the low-set and slightly shorter-span rear wing. He first built two examples of a smaller aerodynamic test aircraft, the Delanne 20-T , which flew in 1938. The Arsenal de l'Aéronautique then constructed a prototype fighter, the Arsenal-Delanne 10 . It was completed and test-flown after the German invasion of France, and was then taken to Germany for further testing. Meanwhile Westland Aircraft were considering

810-507: A minimum of struts; however, it was relatively easy to damage the thin metal skin and required careful handling by ground crews. The 1918 Zeppelin-Lindau D.I fighter was an all-metal stressed-skin monocoque fully cantilevered biplane, but its arrival had come too late to see combat use in the conflict. By the 1930s, biplanes had reached their performance limits, and monoplanes become increasingly predominant, particularly in continental Europe where monoplanes had been increasingly common from

891-516: A modification of the Lysander light observation and liaison aircraft, by adding a rear gun turret to give it some protection from attack. The Lysander already had a suitable main wing, so to support the weight of the turret Westland thought of adding a Delanne-type rear wing. By now hostilities had started but France had not yet fallen. Chief Designer W. E. W. "Teddy" Petter and Chief Test Pilot Harald Penrose flew to Paris, where Penrose flew one of

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972-675: A new agricultural aircraft (Ag Cat X) was completed by Grumman American in 1976. This study indicated that potential market demand existed for more than 100 aircraft each year. The study also showed that most of the concerns expressed by agricultural aircraft operators were addressed by the Ag Cat C model. The Grumman American subsidiary, which also owned the Grumman Gulfstream design series, was sold to American Jet Industries in 1978. From initial production through 1981, Schweizer built 2,455 aircraft under contract. In 1981 Schweizer bought

1053-463: A small degree, but more often was used to improve access to the cockpit. Many biplanes have staggered wings. Common examples include the de Havilland Tiger Moth , Bücker Bü 131 Jungmann and Travel Air 2000 . Alternatively, the lower wing can instead be moved ahead of the upper wing, giving negative stagger, and similar benefits. This is usually done in a given design for structural reasons, or to improve visibility. Examples of negative stagger include

1134-473: A somewhat unusual sesquiplane arrangement, possessing a more substantial lower wing with two spars that eliminated the flutter problems encountered by single-spar sesquiplanes. The stacking of wing planes was suggested by Sir George Cayley in 1843. Hiram Maxim adopted the idea for his steam-powered test rig, which lifted off but was held down by safety rails, in 1894. Otto Lilienthal designed and flew two different biplane hang gliders in 1895, though he

1215-413: A tandem design can offer a greater range of trim conditions, and hence of centre of gravity (CG) location than other layouts, which can offer a practical solution where weight loadings and distributions may vary during operations. However a wide CG range leads to other problems, including a compatible undercarriage layout and safe stalling characteristics. The joined wing is a tandem-wing layout in which

1296-421: A tandem design each wing is smaller and the outer load is absent. This allows the wing structure to be lighter overall. In a conventional design, the fuselage is supported only in one place, with the fore and aft fuselage sections cantilevered out from it. This creates significant bending stresses. A tandem wing supports the same fuselage in two places, reducing the bending stresses. However the torsion stresses on

1377-435: A tandem wing the lift forces on the two wings are separated longitudinally, allowing them to act together to achieve stability, control and trim. The mechanisms of stability and control for a tandem wing are similar to those for the tail-first or canard layout; the distinction is mainly in the relative size of the forward surface. However, the larger trim forces available compared to a smaller tailplane or foreplane mean that

1458-485: A tandem-wing model. Four sets of wings in tandem variously provided lift and propulsion, and Burraitni's cat became the first aeronaut to fly in a tandem design. Having also flown simpler fore-and-aft tandem models of up to 14 feet (4.3 m) in span, in 1903 Samuel Pierpont Langley built a full-size tandem-wing monoplane, the Aerodrome , and launched it from the roof of a houseboat. It failed to fly. After his death

1539-568: Is also sometimes treated as an extreme staggered biplane and referred to as the Nénandovich biplane. Interference effects between the two wings can make a tandem layout less efficient in cruise than the equivalent conventional design, however examples such as the Scaled Composites Proteus are capable of exceptional efficiency. The tandem layout creates a "slot effect" in which the front wing deflects air downwards over

1620-560: Is better known for his monoplanes. By 1896 a group of young men in the United States, led by Octave Chanute , were flying hang gliders including biplanes and concluded that the externally braced biplane offered better prospects for powered flight than the monoplane. In 1903, the Wright Flyer biplane became the first successful powered aeroplane. Throughout the pioneer years, both biplanes and monoplanes were common, but by

1701-536: The Bristol M.1 , that caused even those with relatively high performance attributes to be overlooked in favour of 'orthodox' biplanes, and there was an allegedly widespread belief held at that time that monoplane aircraft were inherently unsafe during combat. Between the years of 1914 and 1925, a clear majority of new aircraft introduced were biplanes; however, during the latter years of the First World War,

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1782-653: The First World War -era Fokker D.VII fighter and the Second World War de Havilland Tiger Moth basic trainer. The larger two-seat Curtiss JN-4 Jenny is a two bay biplane , the extra bay being necessary as overlong bays are prone to flexing and can fail. The SPAD S.XIII fighter, while appearing to be a two bay biplane, has only one bay, but has the midpoints of the rigging braced with additional struts; however, these are not structurally contiguous from top to bottom wing. The Sopwith 1½ Strutter has

1863-703: The Grumman Ag Cat are available in upgraded versions with turboprop engines. The two most produced biplane designs were the 1913 British Avro 504 of which 11,303 were built, and the 1928 Soviet Polikarpov Po-2 of which over 20,000 were built, with the Po-2 being the direct replacement for the Soviet copy of the Avro 504. Both were widely used as trainers. The Antonov An-2 was very successful too, with more than 18,000 built. Although most ultralights are monoplanes,

1944-617: The Lite Flyer Biplane, the Sherwood Ranger , and the Murphy Renegade . The feathered dinosaur Microraptor gui glided, and perhaps even flew, on four wings, which may have been configured in a staggered sesquiplane arrangement. This was made possible by the presence of flight feathers on both forelimbs and hindlimbs, with the feathers on the forelimbs opening to a greater span. It has been suggested that

2025-556: The Nieuport-Delage NiD 42 / 52 / 62 series, Fokker C.Vd & e, and Potez 25 , all serving across a large number of air forces. In the general aviation sector, aircraft such as the Waco Custom Cabin series proved to be relatively popular. The Saro Windhover was a sesquiplane with the upper wing smaller than the lower, which was a much rarer configuration than the reverse. The Pfalz D.III also featured

2106-609: The Odonata ( dragonflies and damselflies ), Lepidoptera ( butterflies and moths ) and some Thysanoptera or Thrips . Odonata species typically have long, thin wings and can synchronise the flapping of fore and aft pairs in various different modes, allowing them to be both fast and highly manoeuvrable. By comparison the Lepidoptera have wider wings which are flapped in synchrony and may even overlap in flight, and are better suited to endurance flying. Thrips are smaller insects and

2187-528: The Smithsonian Institution sought to prove that he had flown in the weeks before the Wright brothers , and employed successful planemaker Glenn Curtiss to secretly modify the aerodrome until it could fly, as "proof" that it had flown in 1903. Curtiss added floats and made other improvements, enabling it to undertake short hops as a true waterplane in 1914. The ruse was eventually exposed, yet

2268-501: The Sopwith Dolphin , Breguet 14 and Beechcraft Staggerwing . However, positive (forward) stagger is much more common. The space enclosed by a set of interplane struts is called a bay (much as the architectural form is used), hence a biplane or triplane with one set of such struts connecting the wings on each side of the aircraft is a single-bay biplane . This provided sufficient strength for smaller aircraft such as

2349-478: The canard or "tail-first" configuration where the forward surface is much smaller and does not contribute significantly to the overall lift. In aviation, tandem wings have long been experimented with, but few designs have ever been put into production. Tandem wings in nature occur only in insects and flying fish, although in the past there have been tandem-wing flying reptiles. A tandem wing configuration has two main wing planes, with one located forward and

2430-419: The lift coefficient is reduced by 10 to 15 percent compared to that of a monoplane using the same airfoil and aspect ratio . The lower wing is usually attached to the fuselage , while the upper wing is raised above the fuselage with an arrangement of cabane struts , although other arrangements have been used. Either or both of the main wings can support ailerons , while flaps are more usually positioned on

2511-481: The 20-Ts and reported favourably on its handling. The tandem Lysander was not completed until 1941, when Penrose began test flights. Although it performed flawlessly – he wrote that "here was a military prototype that needed no alteration" – it was not ordered into production. George Miles saw the tandem Lysander at RAF Boscombe Down and realised its potential as a short-span, short-take-off Naval fighter. The ensuing Miles M.35 Libellula test aircraft differed from

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2592-514: The CR.42 was able to achieve success in the defensive night fighter role against RAF bombers that were striking industrial targets throughout northern Italy. The British Fleet Air Arm operated the Fairey Swordfish torpedo bomber from its aircraft carriers, and used the type in the anti-submarine warfare role until the end of the conflict, largely due to their ability to operate from

2673-528: The Caribou , performed the first non-stop flight between the Canadian mainland and Britain in 30 hours 55 minutes, although the intended target for this long distance flight had originally been Baghdad , Iraq . Despite its relative success, British production of the Dragon was quickly ended when in favour of the more powerful and elegant de Havilland Dragon Rapide , which had been specifically designed to be

2754-548: The Delanne design in having wings of approximately equal span, but with the rear wing given a longer chord and swept back. Although the design was rejected, it flew well enough to prompt development of the larger M.39B , a subscale test aircraft for the proposed M.39 high-speed bomber to meet Specification B.11/41. This time the fore wing was smaller and mounted low, while the swept rear wing was high-mounted with twin engine nacelles slung beneath. Flying in 1943 it performed well, but

2835-515: The First World War, the British Royal Aircraft Factory developed airfoil section wire named RAFwire in an effort to both increase the strength and reduce the drag. Four types of wires are used in the biplane wing structure. Drag wires inside the wings prevent the wings from being folded back against the fuselage, running inside a wing bay from the forward inboard corner to the rear outboard corner. Anti-drag wires prevent

2916-577: The French Nieuport 17 and German Albatros D.III , offered lower drag than a conventional biplane while being stronger than a monoplane. During the Interwar period , numerous biplane airliners were introduced. The British de Havilland Dragon was a particularly successful aircraft, using straightforward design to could carry six passengers on busy routes, such as London-Paris services. During early August 1934, one such aircraft, named Trail of

2997-661: The Germans had been experimenting with a new generation of monoplanes, such as the Fokker D.VIII , that might have ended the biplane's advantages earlier had the conflict not ended when it had. The French were also introducing the Morane-Saulnier AI , a strut-braced parasol monoplane , although the type was quickly relegated to the advanced trainer role following the resolution of structural issues. Sesquiplane types, which were biplanes with abbreviated lower wings such as

3078-585: The Grumman G-164 became the "Ag Cat". Large military orders prevented the production of the Ag Cat at Grumman's Bethpage facility. Grumman's board of directors chose to subcontract the entire program to the Schweizer Aircraft Corporation of Elmira, New York. Initial production was through a contract between Schweizer and Grumman. The first Schweizer-built Ag Cat, bearing registration number N10200, flew on October 17, 1958, under

3159-477: The Peyret glider of 1922. However the rear wing is usually placed either above or below the fore wing, in order to avoid its turbulent wake. One wing is often made a little smaller than the other, according to the details of the design. Indeed, there are no clear dividing lines between the conventional vs. tandem, or the tandem vs. canard configurations. The high-mounted fore wing and low-mounted aft wing arrangement

3240-538: The Smithsonian still sought to claim that the 1902 version had been "capable of flight". It would be many more years before they recanted. Several pioneers had long made successful gliders. In 1905 John J. Montgomery flew a tandem monoplane glider, confirming that the aerodynamic principle was sound. Powered flight followed two years later. In 1906 Louis Blériot built his third aeroplane with tandem elliptical closed wings, later modifying it as his type IV with

3321-417: The aerodynamics of the flapping main wing. Flying fish have enlarged pectoral fins and are capable of gliding flight, though not of true flapping flight. Some species, such as the band-wing, also have sufficiently enlarged pelvic fins , further back along their bodies, to form a tandem layout. Microraptor was a genus of tandem-winged dinosaurs , possibly only a single species. It is known only from

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3402-407: The biplane naturally has a deep structure and is therefore easier to make both light and strong. Rigging wires on non-cantilevered monoplanes are at a much sharper angle, thus providing less tension to ensure stiffness of the outer wing. On a biplane, since the angles are closer to the ideal of being in direct line with the forces being opposed, the overall structure can then be made stiffer. Because of

3483-616: The bomber requirement was subsequently cancelled. After WWII, interest returned to the Flying Flea's tilting forewing concept and, with its worst dangers now understood and fixed, designers have continued to develop the idea, typically still for home construction. The Curtiss-Wright X-19 of 1963 marked the entry of the tandem wing configuration into the VTOL arena, as a quadrotor convertiplane, with large tilting proprotors mounted on each wing tip. It proved overly complex and unreliable for

3564-437: The centre section between the wings are greater. Because it is more compact, the tandem-wing structure is stiffer overall, meaning that less allowance needs to be made for bending, and a smaller safety margin in stress levels is possible, allowing yet further weight and cost reduction. The tandem wing configuration predates successful manned flight. As far back as the fifteenth century, Tito Livio Burraitni experimented with

3645-608: The competition aerobatics role and format for such a biplane well-defined by the mid-1930s by the Udet U 12 Flamingo and Waco Taperwing . The Pitts Special dominated aerobatics for many years after World War II and is still in production. The vast majority of biplane designs have been fitted with reciprocating engines . Exceptions include the Antonov An-3 and WSK-Mielec M-15 Belphegor , fitted with turboprop and turbofan engines respectively. Some older biplane designs, such as

3726-474: The control of Schweizer test pilot Clyde Cook. Full production began in January 1959, with Schweizer delivering 12 FAA-certified airplanes to Grumman by March 1959. The FAA granted type certification on January 20, 1959. The ownership of the Ag Cat design has changed hands several times. Grumman transferred ownership to its commercial aircraft subsidiary, Grumman American, in 1973. A market feasibility study for

3807-499: The conventional high-aspect-ratio entries, it proved more controllable and manoeuvrable. This enabled the pilot M. Maneyrol to remain in updraughts for longer than the others. Although Peyret continued to develop the design, in both gliders and powered types, they remained a curiosity. The SFCA continued the work of Peyret after he died, adopting his control system. Their Taupin first flew in 1933. Its design proved practical and some 52 examples were produced. Meanwhile Henri Mignet

3888-406: The design was sold to Allied Ag Cat Productions Inc. of Walnut Ridge, Arkansas . Allied Ag Cat is not producing new aircraft, although a related company operates a large fleet of Ag-Cats. The basic airframe incorporates many safety innovations, including a pressurized cockpit to keep pesticides out, air conditioning, and a fuselage structure that is designed to progressively collapse in the event of

3969-470: The drag from the number of struts used. The structural forces acting on the spars of a biplane wing tend to be lower as they are divided between four spars rather than two, so the wing can use less material to obtain the same overall strength and is therefore lighter. A given area of wing also tends to be shorter, reducing bending moments on the spars, which then allow them to be more lightly built as well. The biplane does however need extra struts to maintain

4050-549: The end of World War I . At the start of World War II , several air forces still had biplane combat aircraft in front line service but they were no longer competitive, and most were used in niche roles, such as training or shipboard operation, until shortly after the end of the war. The British Gloster Gladiator biplane, the Italian Fiat CR.42 Falco and Soviet I-153 sesquiplane fighters were all still operational after 1939. According to aviation author Gianni Cattaneo,

4131-449: The end of August 1958 with a general finding that this was a well-behaved aircraft with only minor refinements needed before production. When the decision was made to authorize production, Leroy Grumman suggested marketing the aircraft under the name "The Grasshopper"; however, Dick Reade suggested "Ag Cat" following Grumman's naming tradition using the suffix "cat" in aircraft names (e.g., F4F Wildcat and F6F Hellcat). Mr. Grumman agreed and

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4212-426: The flying species have relatively stiff wings. Due to their small size, they generate lift via clap and fling flapping rather than the usual leading-edge vortex generation of most insects. Many flying beetles, such as the ladybird , have forward wing cases which open out in flight but do not flap significantly. While on the ground they protect the delicate main, hind wings, while in the air they may be used to modify

4293-574: The fore wing converted into a conventional biplane. But it was not until the next year that his type VI , a wheeled tandem monoplane of broadly similar configuration to Langley's Aerodrome, became the first tandem-wing aeroplane to fly. Between 1907 and 1911, the aerodynamics studies of Gustave Eiffel showed that the tandem layout was inherently less aerodynamically efficient that the more conventional. Overlapping with Eiffel's work, Stefan Driezewicki developed and wind-tunnel tested an inherently stable tandem-wing design. He then built and successfully flew

4374-422: The front wing sweeps back and/or the rear wing sweeps forwards such that they join at or near the tips to form a continuous surface in a hollow diamond or triangle shape. The joined wing is also an example of a closed wing . The Ligeti Stratos is a rare example to have flown. In a conventional layout, the moment arm of the outer section's lifting load is large, and this stresses the root section. However, in

4455-565: The fuselage high enough for a propeller. The high-mounted rear wing had compensating dihedral. The Quickie first flew in 1977 and the next year won the EAA's Outstanding New Design Award at Oshkosh. It became popular, and several variants subsequently appeared. Rutan set up Scaled Composites and some of the company's later designs were also tandems. Several orders of flying insects employ tandem wings, each with its characteristic anatomy and flight modes. Insects with tandem flapping wings include

4536-416: The gap between the wings, which add both weight and drag. The low power supplied by the engines available in the first years of aviation limited aeroplanes to fairly low speeds. This required an even lower stalling speed, which in turn required a low wing loading , combining both large wing area with light weight. Obtaining a large enough wing area without the wings being long, and thus dangerously flexible

4617-420: The hind limbs could not have opened out sideways but in flight would have hung below and slightly behind the fore limbs. Tandem wing A tandem wing is a wing configuration in which a flying craft or animal has two or more sets of wings set one behind another. All the wings contribute to lift . The tandem wing is distinct from the biplane in which the wings are stacked one above another, or from

4698-639: The low speeds and simple construction involved have inspired a small number of biplane ultralights, such as Larry Mauro's Easy Riser (1975–). Mauro also made a version powered with solar cells driving an electric motor called the Solar Riser . Mauro's Easy Riser was used by "Father Goose", Bill Lishman . Other biplane ultralights include the Belgian-designed Aviasud Mistral , the German FK12 Comet (1997–),

4779-519: The lower wing. Bracing is nearly always added between the upper and lower wings, in the form of interplane struts positioned symmetrically on either side of the fuselage and bracing wires to keep the structure from flexing, where the wings are not themselves cantilever structures. The primary advantage of the biplane over a monoplane is its ability to combine greater stiffness with lower weight. Stiffness requires structural depth and where early monoplanes had to have this provided with external bracing,

4860-520: The most famed copies was the Siemens-Schuckert D.I . The Albatros D.III and D.V , which had also copied the general layout from Nieuport, similarly provided the backbone of the German forces during the First World War. The Albatros sesquiplanes were widely acclaimed by their aircrews for their maneuverability and high rate of climb. During interwar period , the sesquiplane configuration continued to be popular, with numerous types such as

4941-609: The night ground attack role throughout the Second World War. In the case of the Po-2, production of the aircraft continued even after the end of the conflict, not ending until around 1952. A significant number of Po-2s were fielded by the Korean People's Air Force during the Korean War , inflicting serious damage during night raids on United Nations bases. The Po-2 is also the only biplane to be credited with

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5022-474: The other to the rear. The difference is greater than the wing chord, so there is a clear gap between them and the aircraft centre of gravity (CG) lies between the wings. Compared to the conventional layout, where the tailplane exerts little or no vertical force in cruising flight, both tandem wings contribute substantially to lift. The basic tandem configuration uses wings which are equal in size and in line with each other. Examples have flown successfully, such as

5103-486: The outbreak of the First World War biplanes had gained favour after several monoplane structural failures resulted in the RFC's "Monoplane Ban" when all monoplanes in military service were grounded, while the French also withdrew most monoplanes from combat roles and relegated them to training. Figures such as aviation author Bruce observed that there was an apparent prejudice held even against newly-designed monoplanes, such as

5184-420: The project ended before it could be modified. The next breakthrough to manufacture came once again in the homebuilt market. Up-and-coming maverick designer Burt Rutan was working on a low-powered but highly efficient plane for home construction. The tandem layout offered a low-drag fixed undercarriage installation, by placing the main wheels in housings at the tips of the fore wing and applying anhedral to raise

5265-420: The rear wing, reducing the angle of attack (AoA) of the rear. At high aircraft AoA, this causes the front wing to stall first, allowing safer flight at low speeds than the equivalent conventional layout. It also offers good STOL performance. Tandem wings have also been used on ground-effect vehicles , where the front wing is used to direct air downwards beneath the rear wing to create a lifting air cushion. In

5346-424: The reduced stiffness, wire braced monoplanes often had multiple sets of flying and landing wires where a biplane could easily be built with one bay, with one set of landing and flying wires. The extra drag from the wires was not enough to offset the aerodynamic disadvantages from having two airfoils interfering with each other however. Strut braced monoplanes were tried but none of them were successful, not least due to

5427-657: The relatively compact decks of escort carriers . Its low stall speed and inherently tough design made it ideal for operations even in the often severe mid-Atlantic weather conditions. By the end of the conflict, the Swordfish held the distinction of having caused the destruction of a greater tonnage of Axis shipping than any other Allied aircraft. Both the German Heinkel He 50 and the Soviet Polikarpov Po-2 were used with relative success in

5508-518: The rights to the design and continued production under the name Schweizer Ag Cat. Schweizer sold the design to Ag Cat Corp. of Malden, Missouri in 1995. Five model G-164B aircraft were produced and registered before Ag Cat Corp. entered bankruptcy. One additional aircraft, a G-164BT500, is listed in the FAA registry as having been produced by Ag-Cat Corp., but no tail number was issued. This may have been an upgrade to an existing airframe. In February 2001,

5589-460: The same time as the Taupin, it became a craze, hundreds were built and variations developed in many countries. However stability issues relating to the variable front wing could lead to lethal crashes in the hands of the novice pilot, and the type eventually fell out of favour. During the late 1930s, Maurice Delanne was working on tandem-wing designs. He proposed a fighter, the Delanne 10, featuring

5670-728: The series of Nieuport military aircraft—from the Nieuport 10 through to the Nieuport 27 which formed the backbone of the Allied air forces between 1915 and 1917. The performance of the Nieuport sesquiplanes was so impressive that the Idflieg (the German Inspectorate of flying troops) requested their aircraft manufacturers to produce copies, an effort which was aided by several captured aircraft and detailed drawings; one of

5751-415: The structural problems associated with monoplanes, but offered little improvement for biplanes. The default design for a biplane has the wings positioned directly one above the other. 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

5832-464: The technology of the day. Other tandem approaches such as the Delanne were largely forgotten, until David Lockspeiser conceived of his Land Development Aircraft, a low-cost utility transport. It was to utilise three interchangeable wing component; one each mounted high up for the left and right rear wings, and a third fore wing mounted centrally beneath the nose. His prototype LDA-01 flew in 1971. It proved successful enough to develop for production, but

5913-670: 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. This means that a biplane does not in practice obtain twice the lift of the similarly-sized monoplane. The farther apart the wings are spaced the less the interference, but the spacing struts must be longer, and the gap must be extremely large to reduce it appreciably. As engine power and speeds rose late in World War I , thick cantilever wings with inherently lower drag and higher wing loading became practical, which in turn made monoplanes more attractive as it helped solve

5994-400: The upper and lower wings together. The sesquiplane is a type of biplane where one wing (usually the lower) is significantly smaller than the other. The word, from Latin, means "one-and-a-half wings". The arrangement can reduce drag and weight while retaining the biplane's structural advantages. The lower wing may have a significantly shorter span, or a reduced chord . Examples include

6075-434: The wings from folding up, and run from the underside of the outer wing to the lower wing root. Conversely, landing wires prevent the wings from sagging, and resist the forces when an aircraft is landing, and run from the upper wing centre section to outboard on the lower wings. Additional drag and anti-drag wires may be used to brace the cabane struts which connect the fuselage to the wings, and interplane struts, which connect

6156-421: The wings from moving forward when the aircraft stops and run the opposite direction to the drag wires. Both of these are usually hidden within the wings, and if the structure is sufficiently stiff otherwise, may be omitted in some designs. Indeed many early aircraft relied on the fabric covering of the wing to provide this rigidity, until higher speeds and forces made this inadequate. Externally, lift wires prevent

6237-595: Was made under the project name "Farmair 1000". The first G-164, which was built by Grumman (N74054), was equipped with a Continental W670 Series 6A-16 powerplant. The aircraft had its maiden flight on May 27, 1957, with Grumman test pilot Hank Kurt at the controls. This initial flight test consisted of three short familiarization hops with the take-off weight set at 3122 lb and the center of gravity at 31.2%. Flight tests 2 and 3, with test pilot Victor Eble, were accomplished on May 28, 1958, to evaluate its general flight characteristics. In total, 46 test flights were completed by

6318-404: Was more readily accomplished with a biplane. The smaller biplane wing allows greater maneuverability . Following World War I, this helped extend the era of the biplane and, despite the performance disadvantages, most fighter aircraft were biplanes as late as the mid-1930s. Specialist sports aerobatic biplanes are still made in small numbers. Biplanes suffer aerodynamic interference between

6399-404: Was taking a very different approach to flight control. Intended for amateurs to build at home, his Pou-du-Ciel (flying flea) had a novel two-axis control system to make it easy to fly. No ailerons were needed because when the rudder was operated, yaw-roll coupling ensured that the plane banked into a turn. For pitch control the whole front wing tilted to act as a canard elevator. Introduced at much

6480-479: Was the French-built Peyret tandem glider , which won the first British gliding competition in 1922. Peyret's novel control system comprised full-span trailing edge surfaces on all four wings. These operated in pairs on each side as ailerons, in pairs fore and aft as elevators, and synchronously as flaps for low-speed flight. The system proved effective and, despite the glider being less efficient than

6561-777: Was widely used by the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) while the US Navy operated the Naval Aircraft Factory N3N . In later civilian use in the US, the Stearman became particularly associated with stunt flying such as wing-walking , and with crop dusting, where its compactness worked well at low levels, where it had to dodge obstacles. Modern biplane designs still exist in specialist roles such as aerobatics and agricultural aircraft with

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