{"id":10636,"date":"2015-12-21T14:20:30","date_gmt":"2015-12-21T21:20:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/?p=10636"},"modified":"2015-12-21T14:25:29","modified_gmt":"2015-12-21T21:25:29","slug":"an-early-homebuilt-inspiring-a-modern-adaptation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/an-early-homebuilt-inspiring-a-modern-adaptation\/","title":{"rendered":"An Early Homebuilt Inspires a Modern Adaptation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Henri Mignet, never \u00a0able to master an airplane with three-axis controls, built at least seven flawed attempts at simplified controlled flight.\u00a0 His seminal try, the HM-8 Pou de Ciel<\/em> (literally, Louse of the Sky, or more familiarly, Flying Flea) became first a matter of celebration for amateur aviators and then a cause of scandal, being banned in Britain following a series of fatal crashes.\u00a0 The \u201cformula\u201d, as proponents called Mignet\u2019s tandem wing configuration, was sorted out after wind tunnel tests in England and America uncovered the flaw that caused the craft to pitch down in an unrecoverable dive.\u00a0 (For a well-illustrated history of Mignet\u2019s design, see Henri Mignet and his Flying Fleas<\/em> by Ken Ellis and Geoff Jones.\u00a0 Although out of print, used copies are available at Alibris <\/a>and Abe Books<\/a>, at higher prices than your editor paid for his new copy 25 years ago.)<\/p>\n

The airplane was an all-wood structure with simple steel fittings, small enough to be built in a single-car garage. \u00a0It had folding wings and could be towed behind a small car. \u00a020 horsepower would get it airborne and\u00a0\u00a370 ($350 in 1935 money) would purchase all materials and a used motorcycle engine necessary to fulfill the amateur aviator’s dream. \u00a0Once the aerodynamic problem was solved, amateur constructors have continued to build and modify the airplane to this day.<\/p>\n