page_title: Bracing (aeronautics)
section_title: Bracing methods
hierarchical_section_title: Bracing (aeronautics) / Design principle / Bracing methods
caption_attribution_description: English: Flying wires of a de Havilland Tiger Moth
context_page_description: In aeronautics, bracing comprises additional structural members which stiffen the functional airframe to give it rigidity and strength under load. Bracing may be applied both internally and externally, and may take the form of strut, which act in compression or tension as the need arises, and/or wires, which act only in tension.
  In general, bracing allows a stronger, lighter structure than one which is unbraced, but external bracing in particular adds drag which slows down the aircraft and raises considerably more design issues than internal bracing. Another disadvantage of bracing wires is that they require routine checking and adjustment, or rigging, even when located internally.
  During the early years of aviation, bracing was a universal feature of all forms of aeroplane, including the monoplanes and biplanes which were then equally common. Today, bracing in the form of lift struts is still used for some light commercial designs where a high wing and light weight are more important than ultimate performance.
context_section_description: A square frame made of solid bars is not rigid but tends to bend at the corners. Bracing it with an extra diagonal bar would be heavy. A wire would be much lighter but would stop it collapsing only one way. To hold it rigid, two cross-bracing wires are needed. This method of cross-bracing can be seen clearly on early biplanes, where the wings and interplane struts form a rectangle which is cross-braced by wires.
  Another way of arranging a rigid structure is to make the cross pieces solid enough to act in compression and then to connect their ends with an outer diamond acting in tension. This method was once common on monoplanes, where the wing and a central cabane or a pylon form the cross members while wire bracing forms the outer diamond.
caption: Interplane struts and bracing wires on a de Havilland Tiger Moth
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