The Parmentier Wee Mite (sometimes Noel Wee Mite) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

two-seat, parasol

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...

Guernsey Guernsey ( ; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; ) is the second-largest island in the Channel Islands, located west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It is the largest island in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes five other inhabited isl ...

in 1933.

Design and development

The Wee Mite was a parasol monoplane with a welded steel frame with wooden wings and a fixed landing gear with a tailwheel. Designed by Cecil Noel and built by him and Harold James Le Parmentier it was initial powered by a

ABC Scorpion The ABC Scorpion is a 30 hp (22 kW) two-cylinder aero engine designed by British engineer Granville Bradshaw for use in light aircraft. The engine was built by ABC Motors Limited and first ran in 1921.Gunston 1989, p.9. Variants ;S ...

and first flown at Vazon Bay, Guernsey on 10

April April is the fourth month of the year in the Gregorian and Julian calendars. Its length is 30 days. April is commonly associated with the season of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere, where it is the ...

1933. The test flights or hops were not promising and after a forced landing and a damaged

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French language, French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds Aircrew, crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an Aircraft engine, engine as wel ...

, the aircraft was rebuilt with a British Salmson AD.9 engine and a lengthened fuselage by . It was successfully flown around Guernsey in a 50 minute flight on 15

September September is the ninth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 30 days. September in the Northern Hemisphere and March in the Southern Hemisphere are seasonally equivalent. In the Northern hemisphere, the b ...

1933 Events January * January 11 – Australian aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independen ...

. It was registered as ''G-ACRL'' to Parmentier on 21

1934. It was dismantled and stored in 1936.

Specification (Salmson engine)

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite web, url=https://siteapps.caa.co.uk/ginfodocs/HistoricalLedger/G-ACRL.pdf, title=Register Entry for G-ACRL, publisher=Civil Aviation Authority, access-date= 8 May 2023 {{cite book , last1=Ellis , first1=Ken , date=1979 , title=British Homebuilt Aircraft since 1920 , location=Liverpool, England , publisher=Merseyside Aviation Society , page=102, isbn=0 902420 321 {{cite book , last=Jackson , first=A.J., date=1960 , title=British Civil Aircraft since 1919 Volume 3, location=London, publisher=Putnam & Company , pages=277, 281, isbn=0 370 10014 X , url=https://archive.org/details/britishcivilairc0000jack/page/277/mode/1up, access-date= 8 May 2023 1930s British civil utility aircraft Homebuilt aircraft Parasol-wing aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1933 Aviation in Guernsey