Payen Pa-49 Katy Remains a Study in Aircraft Minimalism

With a delta wing, jet engine, fixed gear, wooden structure, and less thrust than a Cessna 172, the bizarre combination of specifications is shared with no other aircraft.

Jason McDowell

Tuesday, February 04, 2025 at 11:01 AM ET

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While the Pa-49’s inboard elevators and outboard ailerons functioned separately, the rudder doubled as a speedbrake. [Credit: J. Harvard]

Key Takeaways:

The Payen Pa-49 Katy was a highly unique and small French delta-wing jet aircraft from the 1950s, characterized by an unusual combination of specifications including a wooden structure and fixed landing gear.
Designed by Roland Payen, the aircraft's primary purpose was to thoroughly test and evaluate his long-developed tailless delta-wing configuration, rather than to achieve high performance.
Despite its minuscule size and modest engine, the Katy successfully completed 300 test flights by 1958 and is now preserved and displayed at the Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace in Paris.

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If you’ve ever played the aviation version of 20 Questions with your friends, where they ask yes/no questions to determine the aircraft type you have in mind, give the Payen Pa-49 Katy a shot. With a delta wing, jet engine, fixed gear, wooden structure, and less thrust than a Cessna 172, the bizarre combination of specifications is shared with no other aircraft, and it’s doubtful anyone would ever arrive at the correct guess.

The Katy was designed by French aerospace engineer Roland Payen in the early 1950s. Reportedly named after his youngest daughter, it first flew in 1954 and progressed through a comprehensive test program to evaluate the performance of its tailless delta-wing configuration through 1958.