Mignet HM14 ‘Pou-du-Ciel’ (Flying Flea)

The Mignet ‘Pou-du-Ciel’, literally translated as ‘sky louse’, but known in England as the ‘Flying Flea’. It is a light aeroplane designed for amateur construction by the Frenchman Henri Mignet, in an ambitious attempt to bring aviation to the man in the street.

The Pou was almost certainly the first aeroplane for which plans with a construction handbook were readily available to the aviation enthusiast to build at home. By 1937, nearly 100 Flying Fleas were registered in the UK alone, with many others in France, Germany, Italy, the USSR and the Scandinavian countries.

The outbreak of WWII meant that all amateur aircraft building came to an abrupt halt. However, although they never caught on in England, modified ‘Flea’ configuration aeroplanes are still flying successfully throughout the world to this day.

About this aircraft

This exhibit was built by K. W. Owen in Southampton, in the shed behind his father’s fish and chip shop. It was registered on 24 January 1936 but is believed never to have flown. It was stored in the shed loft until 1946 when 424 Squadron ATC acquired it. It came to the Shuttleworth Collection in 1967 and was restored by A. Dowson.

Specification