| Cabane strut | |
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| Cabane struts of a de Havilland Tiger Moth |
The cabane struts of a biplane aircraft support the upper wing over the fuselage and work in conjunction with other wing components such as spars and flying wires to transmit flight loads.[1]
Cabane struts also serve to maintain correct wing stagger, angle of incidence and decalage particularly in early monoplane designs. The initial setting or in-service adjustment of these angles, usually with the help of a clinometer and plumb-bob, is known as 'rigging'.[2][3] Cabane struts found on early aircraft were often made of wood with later biplanes using aerofoil-sectioned tubular steel.
Rarely, the lower wing of a biplane is placed entirely below the lower surface of the fuselage, using cabane-like support struts, and such an arrangement could conceivably be called a "ventral cabane strut" assembly. Examples of this arrangement from late World War I are the British Bristol F.2 Fighter two-seat fighter biplane, and the German Pfalz D.XIV experimental fighter.
Cabane struts are also found on parasol wing aircraft, which are monoplanes with their single wing level elevated above the fuselage on cabane struts, like the upper wing of a typical biplane.[4]
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