"Jay" wrote in message
om...
but it would seem to me there is some potential for a low weight, low
drag, in the neighborhood of 500lb empty, 2 seat aircraft designed for
one or two 2-stroke power plants. The Pulsar XP seems close because
I've seen some with Rotax 582's. The aicraft that attempt to exploit
these engines in this way always look like the wings are too small
compared to the proportions we're all used to seeing on C172 and other
similar formula aircraft. Examples are the cri-cri, BD-5, AR-5

Yes, the cri-cri immediately cames to mind, it is a high wing load design
that seems to try to minimise drag by minimising the airplane.

But you left out the other end of the wing loading scale, where you will
find many self-launching motorgliders, some have fixed engines in pusher or
tractor configurations, but some of the neatest ones have retractable engines.
With their very low drag in the glider mode, they raise the possibility of a
"sawtooth" cruise mode where the engine is used for climb only, and is shut down
for long periods in between climbs.

Vaughn