There’s niche, and then there’s niche. A very small — quite charming — and low-powered jet, intended as a delta-winged trainer. Is it any surprise that the Payen Pa 49 remained a one-off?
Test pilot Antoine ‘Tony’ Ochsenbein in the cockpit of the Pa 49A, this angle showing the air intakes and how well the cockpit and fin were blended into the fuselage.
ALL VIA TONY BUTTLER
Roland Payen must have been frustrated. He’d built France’s first jet powered aeroplane to have a delta wing, and this designer/ aeronautical engineer looked set to write his name in the French aviation annals by beating the big manufacturers into the air with such a machine. Then he was just pipped to the post, while the raison d'être for his creation slipped away.
