AMT Microturbines just came out with their new toy -- the Nike. At 176 lbs thrust, it's just begging to be used in a homebuilt of some kind. Sure, fuel consumption is beyond bad and well into ridiculous territory, but an hour of play time might be acceptable for a pure toy.
A single Nike would be a good fit for something like the Subsonex, at around 700 lbs MTOW. But what if you're willing to go over the top and do a twin?
A 60% Fouga CM.170 Magister could be designed to a 1320 lb MTOW for a single pilot, just a tad bit less than proportional weight. 67 ft^2 of wing area gives half the wing loading, for a stall speed (assuming nearly identical CL_max to full-size) of 61 kts. 24' span seems sane, and cockpit width would be on the order of 24" (I don't have a scaled Magister cockpit for getting a more accurate number) -- a tight fit, as expected.
Cruise speed unknown at this point, but (as with ceiling) probably limited by running out of fuel. Glide ratio good enough to (a) motivate the spoilers and (b) get back home on a dry tank.
Sure, it's not sane. But wouldn't it be fun?
A single Nike would be a good fit for something like the Subsonex, at around 700 lbs MTOW. But what if you're willing to go over the top and do a twin?
A 60% Fouga CM.170 Magister could be designed to a 1320 lb MTOW for a single pilot, just a tad bit less than proportional weight. 67 ft^2 of wing area gives half the wing loading, for a stall speed (assuming nearly identical CL_max to full-size) of 61 kts. 24' span seems sane, and cockpit width would be on the order of 24" (I don't have a scaled Magister cockpit for getting a more accurate number) -- a tight fit, as expected.
Cruise speed unknown at this point, but (as with ceiling) probably limited by running out of fuel. Glide ratio good enough to (a) motivate the spoilers and (b) get back home on a dry tank.
Sure, it's not sane. But wouldn't it be fun?