Mignet HM.293

Colonel Albert Eon, head of the French resistance in Brittany, approached Henri Mignet in 1944 with a set of criteria for a small military plane. Devastated by his wife’s death during the design phase, Mignet was only able to complete the prototype, designated the HM.280 “Pou Maquis” (maquis was the name given to French Resistance Fighters). Plans for the HM.280 were never released. After the war, Mignet did publish the plans for a civilian version, the HM.290. After elongating the fuselage and tilting the firewall back, yet another redesign yielded the HM.293, built to handle a larger engine and slightly larger pilot. In the 1980s, Rodolphe Grunberg designed an Ultralight version of the HM.293. Several hundred versions of the Grunberg HM.293 were built, or are under construction. The HM.280-290 series also marked the beginning of the folding-wing design. Although this added weight, it satisfied Mignet’s intent for homebuilt planes to be stored in garages and to be able to be towed to the airfield.

The model you see here is an HM.293 based on Grunberg’s plans, painted in the livery and military markings of the HM.280 Pou Maquis. Powered by a more modern Rotax 447 engine, it was built by Yves Tartrat of France as a tribute to his father, who was a member of the French Resistance during World War II.

Specifications:
Manufacturer: Homebuilt by Yves Tartrat
Country of Origin: France
Designer: Rodolphe Grunberg after Henri Mignet
Engine: Rotax 447, two-cylinder, two-stroke, 42hp
Empty Weight: Design – 374 lbs.
Gross Takeoff Weight: 628 lbs.
Cruise Speed: 80 MPH (estimated)
Wingspan: 20 ft.
Years of Production: 2000-present
Number Produced: Hundreds of copies of HM.293s

Acquired from HMS Flea Collection