Stagger (aeronautics)

In aviation, stagger is the relative horizontal fore-aft positioning of stacked wings in a biplane, triplane, or multiplane.

An aircraft is said to have positive stagger, or simply stagger, when the upper wing is positioned forward of the lower (bottom) wing, Examples include the de Havilland Tiger Moth or Stearman. Conversely, an aeroplane is said to have negative stagger in unusual cases where the upper wing is positioned behind the lower wing, as in the Sopwith Dolphin or Beech Model 17 Staggerwing. An aircraft with the wings positioned directly above each other is said to have unstaggered wings, as in the Sopwith Cuckoo or Vickers Vildebeest.