Written by: Maggie Ganley- Senior, Morningside College

As visitors walk into the soaring lobby of the museum, they are greeted by a locally home built replica of an early 1900’s French Nieuport 11 airplane. The plane marks the first time America became heavily involved with air warfare. Looking back to February of 1916, a fleet of Nieuport 11s were sent out to help with the Battle of Verdun--one of the longest and bloodiest battles during the war.

In the early 1900’s, the United States didn’t see a need for aviation. It wasn’t until the U.S. got involved in World War I that a true need for air defense for our country arose. At the time, the U.S. didn’t have an air-force, so any American who wanted to learn to be a fighter pilot, had to train in France. Once the pilots were trained, they doubled as both bomber pilots and forward observers in the single engine, single seat Nieuport 11. During combat, the pilots would act as bomber pilots, flying over the enemy with their racks of hand grenades, pulling the pins, and throwing the grenades overboard. As forward observers, the pilots would record information about the enemy troops as they flew overhead. They then put their notes into a canister and dropped the canister off over their home base.

The Nieuport planes, weren’t originally well equipped for combat. In fact, the first Nieuports had issues with their machine gun mounts. The guns weren’t timed with the propellers properly so they shot the propellers off. However, engineers soon resolved this problem. After adding the timing chain, which ensured that the machine gun would only fire when the propellers were in the horizontal position, the pilots were able to properly mount and use machine guns during battle.

The Nieuport 11 at the museum was built by Bob Heath, a Sioux City native, from plans drafted by Graham Lee of Canada. The aircraft is a flyable, ⅞th scaled version of the original, because the full version would need a larger engine. This was Heath’s first home built aircraft inspected by the FAA and received an Airworthiness Certificate. He acquired knowledge about planes and their construction while in the U.S. Air Force. The airplane was mostly constructed in the basement of his house. Upon completion it was reassembled outdoors.

Come see the Nieuport 11 at the Mid America Museum of Aviation and Transportation (MAMAT) and immerse yourself in America’s proud history of flight.

Written by: Pam Mickelson

The Gilchrist Foundation awarded two capital campaign grants totaling $102,624 to the Mid America Museum of Aviation and Transportation to help fund gate access to the museum and install energy efficient lighting for museum artifacts.

Plans called for a swing gate that reduces maintenance and manpower so aircraft can have access to museum property.  The gate will allow future warbirds and Fly In participants a safer and better access to the museum after taxiway improvements are completed by the City of Sioux City and the museum.

The lighting project funded new fixtures and lamps for the 30,000 sq. ft. building.  The new lights are better for the museum artifacts and energy efficient.  ….  In addition, new fans were installed to aid in air circulation to make the visitor experience more pleasant as well as also being energy efficient.  Since the installation of both new lights and new fans electric bills have drastically been reduced.

"We are thankful for the Gilchrist Foundation. Its impact will be felt by future visitors," says Dr. Pam Mickelson, museum board president. "We are especially proud of Gilchrist board members in their continued dedication to supporting the air museum."

Larry Finley, museum Executive Director, said “the lights have been on my list for years to improve.  The original halide fixtures were very hard on artifacts as well as the eye.  Return visitors have enjoyed the new lighting.”

Mark Your Calendars!  The Spring 2019 Pancake Breakfast and Fly In is set for April 6. Enjoy John The Pancake Man's breakfast, entrance to the museum, and the opportunity to listen to aviators and car collectors talk about their passions. There will also be a car show with a best car announced at 11:30 am. To enter the car show, just buy a ticket to the breakfast and fill out a form at the front desk. The winner of the car show will receive family passes to the museum, a museum gift basket, and an invitation to display their vehicle for 30 days at the museum. There will also be a raffle for a museum gift basket at the event. Purchase your tickets here. or at the front desk the day of the event.

Inside:

• Rich Crow: Morningside College Drone Professor
• Dr. Steve Feimer: Co-Author Vietnam Vets, Still Coming Home
• Bob Grimm: Marquart MA5
• Dallas Grimm: Swift
• Bob Heath: Nieuport 11
• Kevin Heineman: Sioux City Police Drone Pilot
• Ryan Lihs: 1929 Pitcairn, RedLine Aviation
• Jake Rains: KTIV Chief Drone Pilot
• Mac McCullum: Retired historian of 185th
• Hawthorne Aviation
• 1 Vision Aviation

Outside:

• Rick Alter: 1938 Cub
• Rod Brown: Bush Plane
• Dave Jordan: Mercy One Helicopter
• Sioux City Police Department
• 185th Fire and Rescue
• 1 Vision Cessna 172

Stay tuned as we add exhibit talks.
Updated April 4, 2019