Stephen Appleby

Stephen Villiers Appleby (9 February 1912 – 1984) was an English pilot and a leading proponent of the Mignet Pou-du-Ciel "Flying Flea" aircraft.

Stephen Appleby was born in London on 9 February 1912, the son of Swedish-French parents. He attended numerous schools in France, Italy, Norway, Sweden and the UK, and left school aged 15. He was employed by a property owner near his mother's home at Beaulieu-sur-Mer, near Nice. After taking an interest in motorcycles and engines, he was attracted by advertisements and a book Le Sport de L'Air produced by Henri Mignet about his HM.8 Avionette monoplane. In early 1930, Appleby travelled to Paris, and sought out Mignet for advice;, that was the start of a long friendship. He built an HM.8 with a Harley-Davidson engine in six months. On 3 December 1931, it was successfully flown and tested by two highly experienced pilots at Nice aerodrome. Via personal contacts, he then negotiated to receive reduced-rate flying training from Valentine Baker of the Airwork Flying School at Heston Aerodrome, in return for publicising his exploits in the magazine Les Ailes. By June 1932, he had learned to fly, and also purchased a 34 hp ABC Scorpion engine for his HM.8. He returned to Beaulieu, fitted the new engine, and flew it without authorisation from Nice aerodrome. There was no prospect of legitimately flying from an aerodrome, so he fitted some existing floats, but they proved too heavy to permit a takeoff. He removed the wing, and taxied the combination on water from Nice to Beaulieu. He then purchased a Caudron C.109, with the intention of offering flying training, but an engine failure and crash ensued. In 1933, he was offered employment with Airwork Ltd at Heston in the flight traffic office.

In early 1935, Appleby started construction of a Mignet HM.14 Flying Flea, in a shed at Heston aerodrome loaned to him by his employer, Airwork Ltd. Appleby made a main wing of 5 metres (16 ft) span, on the advice of Mignet, who was unaware that a heavier than normal engine (a water-cooled Ford 10 unit) was to be fitted. Final assembly was in an Airwork hangar. At the same time, Appleby assisted in the construction of a more standard HM.14 (G-ADME) for John Chamier.

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