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The Nieuport 24 is part of the famous line of French fighter aircraft built by the Nieuport company. A preeminent Allied airplane type, various Nieuport fighters were flown by many famous fighter aces, including Mannock, Ball, Bishop, Lufbery, Nungesser, and Guynemer. Unlike many of the models that came before it, the Type 24 was more streamlined and had a rounded fuselage instead of the slab sides seen on earlier machines. Entering service in early 1917, the 24s were not only used by France, but also by Russia, Belgium, Italy, and Britain. The United States purchased a number of 24s to use for flight training. Most Nieuports were phased out in favor of the superior SPAD XIII by the spring of 1918.
Initially, the 24 was not as popular with pilots as its Nieuport predecessors due to heavy lateral control forces. A modification to the aileron hinge installation solved this problem. Nieuport 24bis armament usually consisted of a single Vickers .303 machine gun mounted in front of the cockpit and synchronized to fire through the propeller. An additional Lewis machine gun was sometimes mounted on the upper wing.
The Museum's Type 24 is a reproduction built from Walt Redfern plans by a number of enthusiasts in Washington State. Begun in the early 1980s, Ron Ochs acquired the plane in 1992 and, along with others, completed the project. First flown in 1995, the Nieuport is powered by a Le Rhône engine originally installed in a Thomas-Morse S4C Scout that crashed in Corvallis, Oregon in the 1920s. Other than certain modern enhancements for flyability, such as hydraulic disk brakes, the aircraft is faithful to the original Nieuport. It has 1.5 hours of flying time.
The plane wears the markings of the Nieuport 24bis flown by French ace Paul Tarascon. After a plane crash in 1911, Tarascon's foot was amputated. At the outbreak of war, he volunteered to fly and was known as l'as la jambe de bois ("the ace with a wooden leg"). The name of Tarascon's plane, Zigomar, comes from a group of movie serials popular before the war.
The Nieuport 24 is part of the famous line of French fighter aircraft built by the Nieuport company. A preeminent Allied airplane type, various Nieuport fighters were flown by many famous fighter aces, including Mannock, Ball, Bishop, Lufbery, Nungesser, and Guynemer. Unlike many of the models that came before it, the Type 24 was more streamlined and had a rounded fuselage instead of the slab sides seen on earlier machines. Entering service in early 1917, the 24s were not only used by France, but also by Russia, Belgium, Italy, and Britain. The United States purchased a number of 24s to use for flight training. Most Nieuports were phased out in favor of the superior SPAD XIII by the spring of 1918.
Initially, the 24 was not as popular with pilots as its Nieuport predecessors due to heavy lateral control forces. A modification to the aileron hinge installation solved this problem. Nieuport 24bis armament usually consisted of a single Vickers .303 machine gun mounted in front of the cockpit and synchronized to fire through the propeller. An additional Lewis machine gun was sometimes mounted on the upper wing.
The Museum's Type 24 is a reproduction built from Walt Redfern plans by a number of enthusiasts in Washington State. Begun in the early 1980s, Ron Ochs acquired the plane in 1992 and, along with others, completed the project. First flown in 1995, the Nieuport is powered by a Le Rhône engine originally installed in a Thomas-Morse S4C Scout that crashed in Corvallis, Oregon in the 1920s. Other than certain modern enhancements for flyability, such as hydraulic disk brakes, the aircraft is faithful to the original Nieuport. It has 1.5 hours of flying time.
The plane wears the markings of the Nieuport 24bis flown by French ace Paul Tarascon. After a plane crash in 1911, Tarascon's foot was amputated. At the outbreak of war, he volunteered to fly and was known as l'as la jambe de bois ("the ace with a wooden leg"). The name of Tarascon's plane, Zigomar, comes from a group of movie serials popular before the war.
