Museum Description:

Frenchman Henri Mignet designed the HM.14 Pou du Ciel (Flying Flea) in 1933. He envisioned a simple aircraft that amateurs could build and even teach themselves to fly. In an attempt to render the aircraft stall-proof and safe for amateur pilots to fly, Mignet staggered the two main wings. The HM.14 enjoyed a period of intense popularity in France and England but a series of accidents in 1935-36 permanently blackened the airplane's reputation.

Thise Mignet-Crosley Pou du Ciel is the first HM.14 made and flown in the United States. Edward Nirmaier and two other men built the airplane in November 1935 for his boss, Powel Crosley, Junior. Crosley was president of the Crosley Radio Corporation. He believed that the Flea might become a popular aircraft in the United States. After several flights, a crash at the Miami Air Races in December 1935 grounded the Crosley HM.14 for good. In 1960 Patrick H. "Pat" Packard donated this Pou du Ciel to the Smithsonian. In 1987 Packard and Patti Koppa finished restoring the aircraft. The original ABC Scorpion engine was missing, so these two artisans fabricated a wooden replica. Gift of Patrick H. Packard. Inventory Number: A19610020000

Details

• Date: 1935
• Country of Origin: France
• Dimensions:

• Wingspan: 5.2 m (17 ft)
• Length: 3.6 m (11 ft 10 in)
• Height: 1.7 m (5 ft 6 in)

• Weight: 159 kg (350 lb)
• Engine: ABC Scorpion air-cooled, two-cylinder, 39 horsepower.
• Crew: 1
• Designer: Henri Mignet
• Builder: Edward Nirmaier
• Physical Description: Open-cockpit, staggered wing biplane w/ tractor engine and fixed, tailwheel-type landing gear.