Editing Biplane (section)

===Sesquiplane===  <!-- linked from other pages-->
[[File:Early Nieuport 17 climbing (cropped).jpg|thumb|The lower wing of the [[Nieuport 17]] has smaller chord, but similar span, than the upper wing]]
The ''sesquiplane'' is a type of biplane where one wing (usually the lower) is significantly smaller than the other.<ref name=Wraff74>Wragg 1974, p. 54.</ref><ref name=Gunston>Gunston 2009, p. 606.</ref> The word, from Latin, means "one-and-a-half wings". The arrangement can reduce [[Drag (physics)#Aerodynamics|drag]] and weight while retaining the biplane's structural advantages. The lower wing may have a significantly shorter span, or a reduced [[chord (aircraft)|chord]].<ref name=Wraff74/>

Examples include 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.<ref>Chassard 2018, p. 1.</ref> The performance of the Nieuport sesquiplanes was so impressive that the {{lang|de|[[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 the most famed copies was the [[Siemens-Schuckert D.I]].<ref>Andrews 1966, pp. 3, 7.</ref> The [[Albatros D.III]] and [[Albatros D.V|D.V]], which had also copied the general layout from Nieuport, similarly provided the backbone of the German forces during the First World War.<ref name = "And 78"/> The Albatros sesquiplanes were widely acclaimed by their aircrews for their maneuverability and high rate of climb.<ref name="VanWyngarden 2007, p. 19">VanWyngarden 2007, p. 19.</ref>

During [[interwar period]], the sesquiplane configuration continued to be popular, with numerous types such as the [[Nieuport-Delage NiD 42]]/[[Nieuport-Delage NiD 52|52]]/[[Nieuport-Delage NiD 62|62]] series, [[Fokker C.V]]d & 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.<ref>[http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/acftinqSQL.asp?striptxt=&mfrtxt=Waco FAA Registry Search for Waco] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120217034911/http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/acftinqSQL.asp?striptxt=&mfrtxt=Waco |date=17 February 2012 }} accessed 12 June 2009.</ref> The [[Saro Windhover]] was a sesquiplane with the upper wing smaller than the lower, which was a much rarer configuration than the reverse.<ref name="London">{{harvnb|London|1988|pp=125–130|id=London1988}}</ref> The [[Pfalz D.III]] also featured a somewhat unusual sesquiplane arrangement, possessing a more substantial lower wing with two spars that eliminated the flutter problems encountered by single-spar sesquiplanes.<ref name = "And 78">Andrews 1966, pp. 7–8.</ref>