Nieuport 1–27 French Fighters Family

The designation of Nieuport is linked with the origins of aviation. Édouard de Niéport (August 24, 1879-September 16, 1911) – a pilot and designer – was one of the aviation pioneers. In 1909 he established the Société d’Aérolocomotion aircraft factory in Suresnes, manufacturing airplanes of his design. He was one of the few designers who preferred the monoplane layout with the smallest possible number of drag-increasing items. The first construction, the Nieuport I, did not distinguish itself in performance, but it was a kind of laboratory which enabled the designer to develop his new brainchild, the Niueport II of 1910, into a machine singled out for its novel technical solutions: the fabric-covered fuselage with the pilot’s seat so arranged that only his head would protrude above the fuselage, or the landing gear with the wheels attached to a skid through a steel suspension spring.