Rigging Query

Let's see if we can unravel this. First off, the rudder. The control cables will run from the rudder bar or pedals along the inside of the fuselage at the bottom, guided either by pulleys or fairleads to follow the fuselage structure. They will exit the fabric through a grommet pretty much in a straight line from the control horn on the rudder to the fuselage side.

Elevators can go a couple of ways. If the elevators have a control horn out along the surface somewhere, then the cable will run in a straight line from there to the fuselage skin, and enter through a grommet.

Ailerons are where it gets convoluted. On WWl airplanes, the control cables usually ran inside the wing, from the control horn on the aileron, into the wing, around a pulley, then to another pully in the wing center section, then down into the fuselage. They would be routed along the cabane struts on the outside with fairleads, or simply drop straight into the fuselage from the wing center section. But they all were different, all depends on the internal structure of the wing.

Hope this helps!

Ashley: Thank you. Using your basic description(s),
I will run control cables down from the upper wing on
the rear side of the cabane stuts.

Forgotten in my original query, do the cables from the
rudder usually pass under the elevators or above?

Thanks ever so much again.......

There were, as has been noted, variations on the theme. Many biplanes had another strut that connected the upper and lower ailerons; the cables then ran only through the lower wing, or sometimes the balance cable was on the upper wing.

Some elevators had the horn inside the fuselage, and these cables would be completely hidden.

The cables to rudder and elevator would be oriented to run in the most direct fashion; therefore whether or not one was above the other would be determined by the physical location of the two horns. Typically the rudder horn was at the bottom of the rudder, ergo the elevator cables would be uppermost.

Confused yet?
Regards,
Bruce

Bruce:
Thanks for your quick response. I have purchased an arm full of 1/48th scale WW I models and want to add detail the kit plans don't show....

Maybe by searching the web I will locate actual plans/drawings that show the correct placement for each type aircraft?????.

Thanks again both you and Ashley

Glad to be of help! The aileron strut arrangement Bruce spoke of is called a slave strut. On more modern biplanes, you will see that the ailerons on the bottom wing are connected to the cockpit stick with pushrods, then if the airplane has four ailerons, the slave strut deflects the upper aileron in concert with the lower one. That's the control system on my Christen Eagle.

WW l biplanes often have the ailerons connected by a cable. If you look close at a Sopwith biplane, you'll see a wire coming out of the top of the top wing back to the aileron control horn, down through the aileron to the lower aileron, out the bottom of it, over the control horn and back into the bottom of the bottom wing!

For running cables along interplane and cabane struts, see if you can get a look at a Piper J3 Cub, and you will see how the aileron control cables are sited along the trailing edge of the forward wing strut. On biplanes, it's sometimes hard to tell which wires are braces and which ones are controls.

If you are looking for photos or plans of WW1 aircraft, try Old Rheinebeck Airodrome. Google should hit it. They have a lot of WW1 flying aircraft, and there should be lots of photos or links there to help you.

The National Aviation Museum in Ottawa also has a good WW1 collection. Their web site may also link you to some photos, or you can ask their historians directly.

You can also try Google searches by aircraft name.
Good luck,
Bruce