A triplane is a fixed-wing aircraft equipped with three sets of wings, each roughly the same size and mounted one above the other. Typically, the lower set of wings would be level with the underside of the aircraft's fuselage, the middle set level with the top of the fuselage, and the top set supported above the fuselage on struts.
During World War I, some aircraft manufacturers turned to this configuration in an effort to gain extra maneuverability for fighter aircraft, at a penalty of greater drag and therefore lower speed. In practice, triplanes generally offered performance that was seldom superior to biplanes, and relatively few aircraft of this configuration ever reached mass production.
By far, the best-known example of a triplane is the Fokker Dr.I, immortalised as the aircraft most closely identified with Manfred von Richthofen, the "Red Baron".
See Also:
monoplane, biplane
