From the early pioneer days until the interwar period, wire trailing edges on fabric-covered wings and tails were fairly common, giving the classic scalloped or bat-wing look to planes like this Farman F.451 Moustique.
Are there and big pros or cons to the wire trailing edge other than presumably being lighter and reasonably damage-resistant and, of course, looking cool? Presumably it's not suitable for high speeds as it seems likely that flutter of the trailing edge could occur. Also, are there different styles of construction of a wire trailing edge or is there an established best practice? Solid wire or braided? Solidly anchored at each rib end or only at the first and last rib and attached loosely at the middle ones so it can self-adjust? Pre-tensioned and, if so, how and how much? Here is a beautiful scale model of a Fokker D.VII with wire trailing edges on wings and ailerons from the NASM collections that shows one approach.
Are there and big pros or cons to the wire trailing edge other than presumably being lighter and reasonably damage-resistant and, of course, looking cool? Presumably it's not suitable for high speeds as it seems likely that flutter of the trailing edge could occur. Also, are there different styles of construction of a wire trailing edge or is there an established best practice? Solid wire or braided? Solidly anchored at each rib end or only at the first and last rib and attached loosely at the middle ones so it can self-adjust? Pre-tensioned and, if so, how and how much? Here is a beautiful scale model of a Fokker D.VII with wire trailing edges on wings and ailerons from the NASM collections that shows one approach.
