Cri-cri

This article is about the French airplane. Cri-cri is also the name of a fictional character.

Cri-cri in French is a cricket.

Designed in the early 1970s by a French aeronautical engineer Michel Colomban, the Cri-cri aircraft is the world's smallest twin-engine airplane. At only 16' wingspan and 12'10" length, it is obviously a single-seater, making an impression of a dwarf velomobile with wings at close range.

Cri-cri has superior aerobatic performance; e.g., the one in the picture is capable of 1 roll a second. There are approximately 30 Cri-cri aircraft in airworthy condition in the U.S. and over 100 around the world as of 2003. Word of the mouth around the exhibit said that the designs are no longer available by the author's request, except as a personal favor to those homebuilders that are his friends. However, the fan site below still lists his address, saying that, if you are not in North America, you might still be able to get a design. Also, occasionally, unfinished kit projects are sold, as with every other homebuilt design.

As with any homebuilt aircraft, the existing Cri-cri planes have often been modified by their builders, departing from the original design to a varying degree, resulting in different performance. One flying Cri-cri, F-PZPR, was even equipped by its pilot Nicolas Charmont with jet engines, increasing the cruising speed from 115 mph for the regular propeller-driven version to around 150 mph.

References

• [Cri-cri plane fan site] Contains, among other things, a typical Cri-cri kit plane aerodynamic performance specifications, addresses of the design and parts manufacturers, Cri-cri owners and owners-to-be message exchange board, pictures and movies of the plane, and more references.
• [Nicolas Charmont's Cri-cri F-PZPR with the jet engines]