Hm-1100
HM 1100 CORDOUAN
The HM 1100 CORDOUAN, the latest product of the HENRI MIGNET AIRCRAFT COMPANY, is the ultimate evolution of the <<Pou-du-Ciel>> (<<Flying Flea>>) designed by Henri Mignet, who devoted his life to the development of a safe kind of aviation, which he wanted to be popular and available to all.
The MIGNET'S fourteenth prototype (<<Pou du Ciel>>) <<Flying Flea>> flew in 1933. In a few years, hundreds were built by amateurs in the world, from Europe to Africa, Australia, America and Asia.
It never obtained its certification (Type approval). Being unable to spin, it could not demonstrate that it could get out of spin!
The HM 1100 CORDOUAN is endowed with a number of quite extraordinary technical innovations.
The CORDOUAN is an aeroplane ultralight of Mignet formula equipped with ailerons, so that it is flown in three axes.The addition of the ailerons facilitates landings in strong crosswind, while satisfying the requirements of the great number of <<classical>> pilots.
Despite being flown as a three-axis machine, the CORDOUAN is nevertheless a true <<Flying Flea>>.The characteristics of flight at low speed are still very much in evidence. In fact it is in this area that the exceptional qualities of this machine are apparent. With engine at iddle and with the control column pulled back to the maximum, the CORDOUAN remains perfectly controllable, both in roll and in yaw. It is absolutely impossible to get into a spin! The stall shows by the sinking of the machine which puts itself into a <<parachute descent>> at around 4 meters a second (about 700ft/min). It remains completely manoeuvrable, and crossing the controls up to the stops does not induce the slightest sign of loss of control.
The CORDOUAN is a side-by-side two-seater, with a tractor propeller and equipped with a tricycle undercarriage. Its fuselage is built of glass-fibre/epoxy resin with load-carrying structure.
The wings have a metal structure (AU4G) and are covered in DACRON. The ailerons, the wing tab flap, and the rudder are fabricated in vacuum-formed composite (foam/carbon-fibre sandwich).
The main undercarriage is in ZICRAL 7075.The eight-inch wheels are equiped with disc brakes with hydraulic control from the column.The nosewheel lan- ding gear with telescopic suspension and 8" wheel is extremely robust.
The CORDOUAN is powered by an 80 hp Rotax 912 flat-four, four-strocke engine. It is equipped with a carburator-heater. This engine is reputedly the most reliable microlight engine at the present time.
Access to the cockpit is through two removable butterfly-doors for aerial photography.
The cabin is spacious with airventing and heater outlets. The layout permits easy access to all the flying controls. The seats are ajustable for height and leg room.
The choice of top-of-range materials and the exceptional finish of the structure show once again the reliability and careful work carried out by the AVIONS HENRI MIGNET COMPANY.
Particular care has been paid to the problem of noise.The CORDOUAN is a success in this respect; the noise emitted and measured at 150 metres does not exceed 69dBA. The noise-level in the cabin remains very low, making the machine very comfortable for long cross-country flights. The CORDOUAI is a small microlight aircraft designed for touring.
Cruising speed is 160 kph (99mph), with a range around 600 km (about 320nm). With the CORDOUAN, a super <<Flying Flea>> has been born. It is very easy to fly, with a good performance, manageable and like its predecessor, foldable by a single person in less than three minutes to roadworthy configuration it is thus very easily put under cover (shelter proposed as an option) and transportable on its small trailer. This is a characteristic with which only Mignet aeroplanes are provided.
INNOVATIVE TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS.
FREE WING: The front wing is completely free in flight (a system that is the subject of an INTERNATIONAL PATENT). Its incidence, and thus the control of the machine in pitch, is modified by the aerodynamic action of a Tab-flap on the trailing edge of the center portion of the front wing. This flap is controlled by means of two push-pull cables (for redundancy), connected to the control column. Its range of movement allows control of flying speeds from VNE to about 75 kph (47mph). Once the maximum deflection of the Tab-flap is reached (first control-column stop the column can be pulled further back, thus engaging the mechanical control of the wing and allowing to reach very low speeds at high angle of attack.
The hinged wing, with a carefully chosen axis rotation, maintains a constant angle of attack relatin to the air, simply by reason of the aerodynamic forces acting on it. Its reduced inertia allows it to react in the way to pertubations almost instantaneously, without any intervention from the pilot, transforming it into an automatic gust absorber. The free wing makes it possible to obtain perfect homogeneity between the pitch and roll controls.
AILERONS: The ailerons are installed on the outer panels of the rear wing. Two quick disconnect devices link the aviation quality push pull ball cables to the ailerons, thus enabling a quick folding of the wing.
The handling of the machine is remarkable, with rapid rate of roll. Rotation about the roll axis from 45 left to 45 right is achieved in less than 1.6 seconds.
Crosswind landing on a hard runway has bee demonstrated in a 16-knot wind at 90 to the axis.
DIRECTIONAL CONTROL: The nosewheel is connected to the rudder and permits a turning circle of 2.5 m (8.2ft) diameter.
This section is in French
HM 1100 Cordouan
