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BIPLANE

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Biplane Rides - San Diego
Authentic 1920's Biplanes! Great Gift. Call 800-SKY-LOOP
www.barnstorming.com

bi⋅plane

  [bahy-pleyn]
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–noun
an airplane with two sets of wings, one above and usually slightly forward of the other.
Origin:
1870–75; bi- 1 + (air)plane
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Biplane Rides - San Diego
Authentic 1920's Biplanes! Great Gift. Call 800-SKY-LOOP
www.barnstorming.com
bi·plane   (bī'plān')   
n.  An airplane having two pairs of wings fixed at different levels, especially one above and one below the fuselage.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

biplane 
1874, as a theoretical notion; first attested 1908 in reference to the real thing; from bi- + plane.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia

biplane

airplane with two wings, one above the other. In the 1890s this configuration was adopted for some successful piloted gliders. The Wright brothers' biplanes (1903-09) opened the era of powered flight. Biplanes predominated in military and commercial aviation from World War I through the early 1930s, but the biplane's greater maneuverability could not offset the speed advantage of the lighter monoplane. After World War II, biplanes were used only for special purposes: crop dusting and sport (aerobatic) flying.

Learn more about biplane with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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