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ZM-AAA
The Flying Flea was designed by Frenchman Henry Mignet in 1933 and his designs published in a book. The plane was designed so that 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.
New Zealand’s second-registered Flying Flea ZM-AAB being tested at Mangere in 1936 by test-pilot Alan McGruer. Leo White Collection, Alexander Turnbull Library.
MOTAT’s Flying Flea 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
Diagram of the Flying Flea taken from Henry Mignet’s book ‘The Flying Flea: how to build it and fly it’, published in 1935.
Date: 1936 Manufacturer: Homebuilt Type: Ultra-light sports Wing span: 6 m (19 ft 6 in) Length: 3.9 m (13 ft) Engine: 25HP Scott Squirrel Accommodation: 1 pilot
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Flying
Flea (Pou du Ciel) 
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.