Aircraft [Mignet HM-14 ‘Pou de Ciel’ (‘Flying Flea’) ZM-AAA]
Maker and role
Henri Mignet, Designer
Production date
1936
See full details
Object detail
Accession number
1965.4
Maker
Production period
Description
One of three Flying Flea's registered in NZ. The fuselage is constructed like a packing case with plywood and a lath of spruce in the angles to receive the nails. The aircraft is Canard design with front and back upturned wings, the rear wing lying upon and fixed to the fuselage. There is a rudder and wheels on a common spindle. The engine is mounted in the front of the cockpit. Type: Ultra-light sports. Engine Plate reads: A.B.C. Scorpion Mk 2 A.B.C. Motors Limited, Walton Of Thames, Surrey, England. Normal HP 34, Accommodate: Pilot (Engine No.1550). Silver metal propeller, twin blades with yellow tips.
Brief History
The Flying Flea was designed by Frenchman Henry Mignet in 1933, with the designs published in a book. The plane was designed so anyone could build it and fly it, and New Zealanders grasped the opportunity. A Pou du Ciel League was formed in New Zealand in 1935 and twelve building projects were soon underway.
MOTAT’s Flying Flea ZM-AAA was the first one of only three registered in New Zealand. They were given registrations under the ‘ZM’ prefix which allowed them to fly within 3 miles of an aerodrome and only by a licensed pilot.
It is not known if it ever flew. Isabel Kennard, whose grandfather’s workshop was used to build it, remembers it taking “little hops” at the aerodrome and it being used as decoration for a ball at the Waipukurau Municipal Theatre to raise money for the war effort.
Hundreds of Flying Fleas were built worldwide, and it soon became clear that it could be lethal in the hands of inexperienced pilots. There were several deaths including one in New Zealand. Wind tunnel tests were carried out and showed that the angle of the front wing was too steep and it did not create enough lift. This combined with other factors in its design, caused the plane to go into a dive from which the pilot could not recover. The Flying Flea was banned in France in 1936 and everywhere else shortly after.
Date: 1936
Manufacturer: Homebuilt
Type: Ultra-light sports
Wing span: 6 m (19 ft 6 in)
Length: 3.9 m (13 ft)
Engine: 34 h.p. A.B.C. Scorpion Mk. II
Accommodation: 1 pilot
MOTAT’s Flying Flea ZM-AAA was the first one of only three registered in New Zealand. They were given registrations under the ‘ZM’ prefix which allowed them to fly within 3 miles of an aerodrome and only by a licensed pilot.
It is not known if it ever flew. Isabel Kennard, whose grandfather’s workshop was used to build it, remembers it taking “little hops” at the aerodrome and it being used as decoration for a ball at the Waipukurau Municipal Theatre to raise money for the war effort.
Hundreds of Flying Fleas were built worldwide, and it soon became clear that it could be lethal in the hands of inexperienced pilots. There were several deaths including one in New Zealand. Wind tunnel tests were carried out and showed that the angle of the front wing was too steep and it did not create enough lift. This combined with other factors in its design, caused the plane to go into a dive from which the pilot could not recover. The Flying Flea was banned in France in 1936 and everywhere else shortly after.
Date: 1936
Manufacturer: Homebuilt
Type: Ultra-light sports
Wing span: 6 m (19 ft 6 in)
Length: 3.9 m (13 ft)
Engine: 34 h.p. A.B.C. Scorpion Mk. II
Accommodation: 1 pilot
Marks
ZM-AAA
CIEL Painted
Flying Flea Painted
Flying / Flea / [other side] Pou / du / Ciel Painted
CIEL Painted
Flying Flea Painted
Flying / Flea / [other side] Pou / du / Ciel Painted
Media/Materials
Other name
Pou Du Ceil
Flying Flea
Flying Flea
Credit Line
Henri Mignet. 1936. Aircraft [Mignet HM-14 ‘Pou de Ciel’ (‘Flying Flea’) ZM-AAA], 1965.4. The Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT).
![Aeroplane Engine [ABC Scorpion]; ABC Motors Limited; Circa 1923](https://collection.motat.nz/records/images/medium/19655/9fb8e1dbb2ab41788e5a26d1fc0605e844f939a3.jpg)
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