History thumb|Otto Lilienthal flying his Large Biplane in Lichterfelde (near Berlin) on October 19, 1895 thumb|1909 Voisin biplane, with "curtains" connecting the upper and lower wings thumb|Late 1930s Fiat CR.42 Falco with Warren truss interplane struts which reduced the work needed in rigging a biplane thumb|Hillson Bi-mono with slip-wing. The aircraft could take off as a biplane, jettison the upper, disposable wing, and continue flying as a monoplane. A single example was built, which successfully demonstrated jettisoning of the slip wing in flight The stacking of wing planes was suggested by Sir George Cayley in 1843.J. A. D. Ackroyd; "Sir George Cayley: The Invention of the Aeroplane near Scarborough at the Time of Trafalgar", Journal of Aeronautical History, Paper No. 2011/6, 2011. Hiram Maxim adopted the idea for his steam-powered test rig, which lifted off but was held down by safety rails, in 1894.Wragg 1974, p. 206. Otto Lilienthal designed and flew two different biplane hang gliders in 1895,Schwipps, Werner. Die Flugzeuge von Otto Lilienthal. Technik - Dokumentation - Rekonstruktion. (The airplanes of Otto Lilienthal. Technique - Documentation - Reconstruction). Otto-Lilienthal-Museum Anklam, 2016. though he is better known for his monoplanes."From Lilienthal to the Wrights." Otto Lilienthal Museum. Retrieved: 8 January 2012. 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.
History thumb|Otto Lilienthal flying his Large Biplane in Lichterfelde (near Berlin) on October 19 1895 thumb|1909 Voisin biplane with "curtains" connecting the upper and lower wings thumb|Late 1930s Fiat CR42 Falco with Warren truss interplane struts which reduced the work needed in rigging a biplane thumb|Hillson Bi-mono with slip-wing The aircraft could take off as a biplane jettison the upper disposable wing and continue flying as a monoplane A single example was built which successfully demonstrated jettisoning of the slip wing in flight The stacking of wing planes was suggested by Sir George Cayley in 1843J A D Ackroyd; "Sir George Cayley The Invention of the Aeroplane near Scarborough at the Time of Trafalgar" Journal of Aeronautical History Paper No 2011/6 2011 Hiram Maxim adopted the idea for his steam-powered test rig which lifted off but was held down by safety rails in 1894Wragg 1974 p 206 Otto Lilienthal designed and flew two different biplane hang gliders in 1895Schwipps Werner Die Flugzeuge von Otto Lilienthal Technik - Dokumentation - Rekonstruktion (The airplanes of Otto Lilienthal Technique - Documentation - Reconstruction) Otto-Lilienthal-Museum Anklam 2016 though he is better known for his monoplanes"From Lilienthal to the Wrights" Otto Lilienthal Museum Retrieved 8 January 2012 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