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.