Some history of the Neiport 28C-1:
Design and development
By the middle of 1917, it was obvious that the Nieuport 17 and its immediate developments such as the Nieuport 24bis, with only moderate performance gains, were unable to cope with the latest German fighters. The Nieuport 17 line was already being replaced in French service with the SPAD S.VII as quickly as supplies of the Hispano-Suiza engine would allow.
The Nieuport 28 design was an adaptation of the concept of the lightly built, highly maneuverable rotary engined fighter typified by the Nieuport 17 to the more demanding conditions of the times. It had a more powerful engine, twin machine guns, and a new wing structure – for the first time, a Nieuport fighter was fitted with conventional two-spar wings, top and bottom, in place of the sesquiplane "v-strut" layout of earlier Nieuports. Ailerons were fitted to the lower wings only. The tail unit’s design closely followed that of the Nieuport 27, but in order to provide a more streamlined profile, the fuselage was much slimmer, so narrow that the machine guns had to be offset to the left. Several prototypes were built - testing three different dihedral settings for the top wing, including a completely flat wing, and one with marked dihedral that rested very close to the top of the front fuselage. Production machines had an intermediate configuration, with a slight dihedral in the upper wing, taller cabane struts, and room for the second machine gun to be mounted under the center section.
Aside from the original three variants, additional prototypes were built to test a wooden monocoque fuselage and alternate engine installations including the 300 hp Hispano-Suiza 8Fb, 170 hp Le Rhône 9R, 275 hp Lorraine-Dietrich 8Bd and 200 hp Clerget 11E. The results of these tests facilitated the development of the Nieuport 29.
Nieuport 28A
In late 1918, about the time that the type was withdrawn from front line use, the U.S. Army placed an order for an additional 600 improved Nieuport 28s, which were given the American designation 28A. Although these were mainly intended as advanced trainers, early problems with the SPAD S.XIII in American service meant that the possibility of re-introducing the Nieuport fighters into squadron service was not totally discounted, and provision was made for the installation of twin Marlin guns, mounted side by side under the center section. The Nieuport 28A was to feature an improved upper wing leading edge structure and a redesigned fuel system, correcting faults in the initial production batch. As the Nieuport company were preoccupied with later types, production was to be undertaken by Lioré et Olivier. With the end of the war 170 Lioré et Olivier built Nieuport 28As, with parts for another 100, were purchased, the rest of the order being cancelled.
Operational history
By early 1918, when the first production examples of the definitive Nieuport 28 became available, the SPAD S.XIII was already firmly established as the standard French fighter, and the Nieuport 28 was "surplus" from the French point of view.[10] On the other hand, the United States Army Air Service was desperately short of fighters to equip its projected "pursuit" (fighter) squadrons. Since the SPAD S.XIII was initially unavailable due to engine shortages, the Nieuport was offered to the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) as an interim alternative.[11]
Starting Nieuport 28s of the 95th Aero Squadron for a patrol
A total of 297 Nieuport 28s were purchased by the Americans, with the 94th and 95th Aero Squadron receiving the initial allotments, starting in March 1918. In all, four AEF pursuit squadrons: the 27th, 94th, 95th and 147th Aero Squadrons, flew Nieuport 28s operationally for various periods between March and August 1918.
The factory delivered the Nieuport 28s to the Americans in mid-February 1918 without armament. At the time the AEF had no spare Vickers machine guns to supply to the squadrons, so that the first flights were essentially unarmed training flights for pilots to familiarize themselves with the handling and performance of the new type. When deliveries of Vickers guns to the American squadrons finally started in mid-March, and until sufficient guns had been received for all of the fighters to be fully equipped, some aircraft were flown on patrol with only one machine gun fitted.
On 14 April 1918, the second armed patrol of an AEF fighter unit resulted in two victories when Lieutenants Alan Winslow and Douglas Campbell (the first American-trained ace) of the 94th Aero Squadron each downed an enemy aircraft over their own airfield at Gengoult. Several well-known World War I American fighter pilots, including the 26-victory ace, Captain Eddie Rickenbacker, began their operational careers on the Nieuport 28. Quentin Roosevelt (the son of U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt) was shot down and killed flying the type.
The 94th and 95th had the task of dealing with the type's teething troubles. Initially undercarriages failed on landing - this was corrected by using heavier bracing wire. The Nieuport 28's 160 hp Gnome Monosoupape rotary engine and fuel system proved unreliable and prone to fires. Field improvements to fuel line fittings, and increased familiarity of the American pilots (and their ground crews) with the particular requirements of monosoupape engines reduced these problems, but the definitive solution adopted was simply not filling the reserve fuel tank, which drastically reduced the Nieuport fighter's range. More seriously, a structural problem emerged – during a sharp pull out from a steep dive, the plywood leading edge of the top wing tended to break away, taking the fabric with it. On the whole, although the pilots of the 94th and the 95th appreciated the manoeverability and good handling of the Nieuport, and were reasonably happy with its general performance, they regarded the type as fragile and dangerous.
The 27th and 147th Aero Squadrons arrived at the front three months later, starting combat operations on 2 June 1918. In July 1918, the 94th and 95th Aero Squadrons received their first SPAD XIIIs and some of their surviving Nieuport 28s were then transferred to the 27th and 147th Aero Squadrons. By the end of August 1918, all four American squadrons were fully outfitted with SPAD XIIIs. The pilots of the 94th and 95th Aero Squadrons welcomed the SPADs, although the 27th and 147th Aero Squadrons were much less enthusiastic about the change.
Twelve of the Army Nieuports were transferred to the U.S. Navy which equipped them with Royal Navy style hydrovanes and wing floatation gear, and flew them from launching platforms mounted above the forward turrets of eight battleships, in the same way that Sopwith Camel 2F1s were used by the Grand Fleet.
And I have been fascinated by the history behind the 1st Fighter Wing, which currently is made up of the 27th and 94th Fighter Squadrons and they fly F-22 raptors out of Langley. So they trace their history all the way back to WW1. The 27th and the 94th Aero Squadron were in the 1st Pursuit group along with the 95th and 147th Aerosquadrons.
So the most famous Ace from the 94th Aero was Eddie Rickenbacker, and I will be modelling his Nieuort 28C-1, in which he scored his 1st six confirmed victories.
Now on to the box and spruage.
Nice selection of Decals (all 94th Aero)
Stickers that come with the kit, to represent actual posters glued onto the wings.
I'm not used to the small size of these planes(even in 1/48), and only a few sprues...
Nice bit of Photoetch that comes with the kit.
I have ordered some 1/48 scale turnbuckles from gaspatch models. Looking forward to trying out the rigging and learning.
Cheers!!
GG
that cockpit p. e looks delicate you have made a great job of that. 
