Start here
A few places to begin, from the aircraft’s story to the people who fly it.
Aircraft and configuration
Mignet's HM.14 Flying Flea uses a tandem-wing layout, piston propulsion and fixed landing gear. Rara-Avis Sim represents the aircraft in its Microsoft Flight Simulator package.
Mignet HM.14 Flying Flea
Rara-Avis Sim · Read more ↗Meet Mignet HM.14 Flying Flea
Mignet's HM.14 Flying Flea uses a tandem-wing layout, piston propulsion and fixed landing gear. Rara-Avis Sim represents the aircraft in its Microsoft Flight Simulator package.
History & design
A homebuilding movement
Henri Mignet offered plans through a handbook so that enthusiasts could construct their own Pou-du-Ciel, or Flying Flea. Shuttleworth records almost one hundred registered in Britain by 1937. The outbreak of war interrupted amateur construction, leaving this small tandem-wing aircraft closely associated with the pre-war homebuilding movement.
The Shuttleworth Collection · Mignet HM14 Pou-du-Ciel ↗Shuttleworth account of British homebuilding
A Southampton-built survivor
Shuttleworth’s G-AEBB was built by K. W. Owen in a shed behind his father’s fish-and-chip shop in Southampton and registered on 24 January 1936. The collection believes it never flew. After storage and service with an Air Training Corps unit, it reached Shuttleworth in 1967 and was restored by A. Dowson.
The Shuttleworth Collection · Mignet HM14 Pou-du-Ciel ↗History of G-AEBB; not a flying-service record for every HM.14
Systems & details
Several builds represented in the package
Rara-Avis presents its Flying Flea as a collection of individually modelled configurations rather than a single engine installation. The MSFS package lists Scott Squirrel, Carden Ford, Rotax and Salmson engine models, ten three-dimensional aircraft models and eighteen liveries. It also documents custom cockpit views and windscreen rain and icing effects. These are features of the simulator package and should be kept distinct from the history of Shuttleworth’s particular, unflown G-AEBB airframe.
In your simulator
No released simulator product is listed for this aircraft in the developers reviewed. Announced products are excluded.
Manuals & resources
Read the original documentation from the people who created it. Manuals open on their publisher’s website.
Simulator documentation
Mignet HM.14 Flying Flea — simulator documentationRara-Avis Sim · Mignet HM.14 Flying Flea product descriptionAircraft history
Mignet HM14 Pou-du-CielThe Shuttleworth Collection · Reviewed aircraft history and characteristics; archived 2026-10-12Built-in force-feedback profiles
Read the documentary basis, editable starting settings and remaining questions for the aircraft you fly. Each explanation refers to the exact profile revision shown.
Catalogue programme-20261011-v3 · 2 profile choices
Rara-Avis Sim Mignet HM.14 Flying Flea
Rara-Avis Sim · Free and Pro · Revision 2 · Inherited starting point
MSFS 2020
The Flying Flea tandem-wing piston homebuilt.
Mignet HM.14 Flying Flea
Free and Pro · Revision 1 · Partial review
MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024 · X-Plane 12
The Flying Flea tandem-wing piston homebuilt.
Mignet HM.14 Flying Flea
The Flying Flea tandem-wing piston homebuilt.
Aircraft and simulator scope
- Mignet HM.14 Flying Flea · MSFS 2020 · Variant starting point
- Mignet HM.14 Flying Flea · MSFS 2024 · Variant starting point
- Mignet HM.14 Flying Flea · X-Plane 12 · Variant starting point
Universal named airframe/configuration; intended MSFS2020/MSFS2024/XP12 starting point, not add-on or edition acceptance. · Physical facts and prior documentary review are reused from their archived dated sources; new market availability is not inferred.
The simulator model and controls
The Flying Flea tandem-wing piston homebuilt.
How this profile feels
The spring stays independent of airspeed. Directed aerodynamic loading is omitted.
Pitch-trim relief is off. Autopilot following is off.
Aircraft and configuration
Mignet HM-14 Flying Flea: Tandem-wing piston aircraft with fixed landing gear.
About the values
Strengths are normalized hardware-feel settings. They set the effect balance; hand force depends on the device and its limits. The IAS reference is a tuning value.
What the documentation establishes
Mignet HM-14 Flying Flea: Tandem-wing piston aircraft with fixed landing gear.
Documentary review and sources
These decisions describe the documentary basis and remaining gaps for this revision. Aircraft documentation and a starting setting describe different kinds of evidence.
Aircraft and variant
ReviewedThe Flying Flea tandem-wing piston homebuilt.
Flight controls
InheritedThe Flying Flea tandem-wing piston homebuilt.
Trim
InheritedThe profile uses the trim behaviour configured below. Pitch relief is off, with stored authority 0; roll authority is 0.
Autopilot and stability
ReviewedAutopilot following is off; the configured spring and load retain the hardware feel.
Equipment
InheritedMignet HM-14 Flying Flea: Tandem-wing piston aircraft with fixed landing gear.
Speeds and limits
InheritedThe indicated-speed references set the profile response scale; they are separate from aircraft operating limits.
Simulator integration
ReviewedThe profile targets msfs2020, msfs2024, xplane12. Add-on-specific controls use only the supported references configured by this profile.
Force-feedback settings
InheritedThe settings define the profile’s effect balance. Device output limits affect physical hand force.
Starting settings and their rationale
These configured values are starting estimates. The explanations describe what each setting controls; physical validation appears separately below.
| Setting | Starting value | What it controls and why |
|---|---|---|
| Spring strength | Starting value0.74 | What it controls and whyThis profile uses reversible-control loading for Mignet HM.14 Flying Flea. The baseline spring is 0.74. Low-speed spring blending is off. |
| Master force gain | Starting value0.85 | What it controls and whyScales overall profile strength while preserving effect balance, subject to device and output limits. |
| Profile force gain | Starting value0 | What it controls and whyThe 0 gain omits sustained directed airspeed loading. Spring resistance remains independent. |
| Profile force gain | Starting value0 | What it controls and whyThe 0 gain omits sustained directed airspeed loading. Spring resistance remains independent. |
| Force tuning speed/reference | Starting value65 kt | What it controls and whySets the IAS reference for aerodynamic loading. It is an estimate, not published cruise TAS or a flight limit. |
| Spring response reference speed | Starting value32.5 kt | What it controls and whySets the IAS where the low-speed blend reaches baseline strength; high-speed stiffening also uses it. |
| Aileron force scale | Starting value0.72 | What it controls and whyRoll and pitch aerodynamic scales are 0.72 and 1, respectively. These stored weights do not create directed aerodynamic loading while that term is inactive. No custom spring-travel curve is enabled. |
| Elevator force scale | Starting value1.0 | What it controls and whyScales pitch aerodynamic loading; pitch spring travel and trim responses are separate settings. |
| Trim feel | Starting valueDisabled | What it controls and whyRetained for compatibility and group membership. Trim relief, rather than this flag, controls centre movement. |
| Trim relief | Starting valueDisabled | What it controls and whyAllows trim relief with supported control law and valid telemetry. Axis authorities set its amount. |
| Autopilot follow | Starting valueDisabled | What it controls and whyAutopilot following is off; the configured spring and load retain the hardware feel. |
| Autopilot neutral hold | Starting valueDisabled | What it controls and whyPermits centering hold during a supported AP state, separate from following a moving target. |
All 45 starting settings and their rationale
The settings define the profile’s effect balance. Device output limits affect physical hand force.
| Setting | Starting value | What it controls and why |
|---|---|---|
| Spring strength | Starting value0.74 | What it controls and whyThis profile uses reversible-control loading for Mignet HM.14 Flying Flea. The baseline spring is 0.74. Low-speed spring blending is off. |
| Profile force gain | Starting value0 | What it controls and whyThe 0 gain omits sustained directed airspeed loading. Spring resistance remains independent. |
| Elevator force scale | Starting value1.0 | What it controls and whyScales pitch aerodynamic loading; pitch spring travel and trim responses are separate settings. |
| Aileron force scale | Starting value0.72 | What it controls and whyRoll and pitch aerodynamic scales are 0.72 and 1, respectively. These stored weights do not create directed aerodynamic loading while that term is inactive. No custom spring-travel curve is enabled. |
| Output force limit | Starting value0.55 | What it controls and whyCaps directed-force output. Native spring effects and device limits remain separate. |
Mignet HM.14 Flying Flea: No physical trim-neutral contract; both trim paths disabled. Estimated pitch/roll trim authorities 0/0; exact add-on sign, travel, units and build-specific neutral remain unqualified. Rudder trim never substitutes for roll trim.
| Setting | Starting value | What it controls and why |
|---|---|---|
| Elevator Authority | Starting value0 | What it controls and whyThe profile uses the trim behaviour configured below. Pitch relief is off, with stored authority 0; roll authority is 0. |
| Aileron Authority | Starting value0 | What it controls and whyScales supported roll-trim relief and permitted centre movement. Zero removes roll response. |
Mignet HM.14 Flying Flea: 65 KIAS is the retained estimated tuning reference. It is not published cruise TAS, VNE, a new flight limit or a measured force threshold. Source-specific operating quantities remain attached to their original configuration and conditions.
| Setting | Starting value | What it controls and why |
|---|---|---|
| Force tuning speed/reference | Starting value65 kt | What it controls and whySets the IAS reference for aerodynamic loading. It is an estimate, not published cruise TAS or a flight limit. |
Primary-control scaling remains an estimate. No unsupported aileron-axis remapping is introduced.
| Setting | Starting value | What it controls and why |
|---|---|---|
| Profile force gain | Starting value0 | What it controls and whyThe 0 gain omits sustained directed airspeed loading. Spring resistance remains independent. |
Exact configured values with software explanations. Force magnitudes remain editable estimates; disabled features retain inactive values.
| Setting | Starting value | What it controls and why |
|---|---|---|
| Spring deadband | Starting value0.04 | What it controls and whySets travel around the centre before the baseline spring resists. Smaller values engage it sooner. |
| Master force gain | Starting value0.85 | What it controls and whyScales overall profile strength while preserving effect balance, subject to device and output limits. |
| QBlend Enabled | Starting valueDisabled | What it controls and whyAllows baseline spring strength to rise with indicated airspeed where the control law permits it. |
| QSpring Minimum Factor | Starting value0.55 | What it controls and whySets low-speed spring strength as a fraction of baseline when blending is enabled. One keeps full strength. |
| QSpring Start Knots | Starting value8 kt | What it controls and whySets the IAS where the low-speed spring blend starts rising. This is a feel threshold, not a flight limit. |
| Spring response reference speed | Starting value32.5 kt | What it controls and whySets the IAS where the low-speed blend reaches baseline strength; high-speed stiffening also uses it. |
| Airspeed spring stiffening gain | Starting value0 | What it controls and whyThe high-speed spring-stiffening gain is 0. No additional speed-driven stiffening is added; this does not disable independent aerodynamic loading. |
| Airspeed spring stiffening limit | Starting value5 | What it controls and whyLimits the squared airspeed ratio used for high-speed spring stiffening; it is not a device-force cap. |
| Trim feel | Starting valueDisabled | What it controls and whyRetained for compatibility and group membership. Trim relief, rather than this flag, controls centre movement. |
| Trim relief | Starting valueDisabled | What it controls and whyAllows trim relief with supported control law and valid telemetry. Axis authorities set its amount. |
| Force Trim Enabled | Starting valueDisabled | What it controls and whyEnables local force trim, separate from aircraft-owned trim and add-on integration qualification. |
| GLoad Enabled | Starting valueDisabled | What it controls and whyAllows load-factor changes to modify permitted spring laws. Passive fly-by-wire feel can suppress it. |
| Rate Damping Enabled | Starting valueDisabled | What it controls and whyEnables rate damping with the configured coefficients and control law. |
| Autopilot follow | Starting valueDisabled | What it controls and whyAutopilot following is off; the configured spring and load retain the hardware feel. |
| Autopilot follow authority | Starting value0.1 | What it controls and whySets admitted AP-follow gain, not a percentage of travel. Runtime ownership and input limits still apply. |
| Autopilot neutral hold | Starting valueDisabled | What it controls and whyPermits centering hold during a supported AP state, separate from following a moving target. |
| Autopilot neutral hold strength | Starting value0.6 | What it controls and whySets admitted AP neutral-hold strength; inactive while neutral hold is disabled. |
| Enabled | Starting valueEnabled | What it controls and whyEnables aerodynamic cues; each still needs nonzero strength and its simulator conditions. |
| Gain | Starting value0 | What it controls and whySets stall-buffet strength. Zero removes the cue without changing simulator stalls or warnings. |
| Gain | Starting value0 | What it controls and whySets high-Mach buffet strength; onset and full-strength thresholds are separate. |
| Gain | Starting value0 | What it controls and whySets flap buffet at the configured position and speed gates. Flap movement texture is separate. |
| Maximum flap index | Starting value3 | What it controls and whySets the final flap index for detent normalization. UP plus three detents uses maximum index3. |
| Minimum flap index | Starting value2 | What it controls and whySets the first flap detent that admits buffet; this is a handle index, not degrees. |
| Gain | Starting value0 | What it controls and whySets gear aerodynamic buffet; movement and ground-contact cues are separate. |
| Shaker Enabled | Starting valueDisabled | What it controls and whyPermits shaker at supported warning conditions; the switch does not establish aircraft equipment. |
| Stick shaker amplitude | Starting value0.5 | What it controls and whySets triggered shaker strength; inactive while the shaker feature is disabled. |
| Enabled | Starting valueEnabled | What it controls and whyEnables ground effects; each still needs its own strength and contact or motion telemetry. |
| Gain | Starting value0.4 | What it controls and whySets rolling texture strength, modified by speed, surface and undercarriage configuration. |
| Gain | Starting value0.25 | What it controls and whySets gear-bump texture during ground motion, separate from touchdown impact. |
| Gain | Starting value0.65 | What it controls and whySets landing-impact strength; landing telemetry and response shape determine the pulse. |
| Gain | Starting value0 | What it controls and whySets reverse-thrust vibration with valid reverser and engine conditions. Zero removes the cue. |
| Enabled | Starting valueEnabled | What it controls and whyEnables engine cues with nonzero settings and valid running-engine telemetry. |
| Gain | Starting value0.12 | What it controls and whySets estimated engine vibration using configured telemetry and response, not measured cockpit vibration. |
| Enabled | Starting valueEnabled | What it controls and whyEnables accessory cues with configured strengths and observed accessory movement. |
| Gain | Starting value0 | What it controls and whySets texture from observed flap movement; a command without movement does not establish the cue. |
| Gain | Starting value0 | What it controls and whySets texture from observed gear movement, separate from aerodynamic and touchdown effects. |
Limits and open questions
- Mignet HM.14 Flying Flea is a universal starting point; exact add-on matching, edition operation and physical hand-force calibration remain unqualified.
- Autopilot movement and unknown custom trim, failure or force-input signals are disabled. Confirm the selected equipment fit and trim direction for the implementation in use.
- Force magnitudes and speed tuning are editable inherited estimates. Owner physical and installed-aircraft acceptance remain pending.
Physical validation
No physical force validation is recorded in this public catalogue for this revision. Documentary review and software checks do not establish how a particular device feels.
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