I stumbled across this article (with beautiful photos) on the Bagalini Colombo, a wood and fabric two-seat parasol monoplane (think Fisher Flying FP-505 Skeeter meets Evans VP-2 Volksplane). This amazing little plane weighs just 150 kg empty with a Rotax 503. With a gross weight of 318 kg, it carries substantially more than its own weight. Performance is, of course, quite modest, but it's hard to beat the economics of something like this for local flying just for fun.
Bagalini Colombo - Storia di un classico | Volare VFRMagazine (in Italian)
Google Translate (in English via Google Translate)
Here, too, is a video clip of another Colombo, this one with a VW engine.
[video=youtube_share;R0s1sHypaZY]http://youtu.be/R0s1sHypaZY[/video]
Cheers,
Matthew
Bagalini Colombo - Storia di un classico | Volare VFRMagazine (in Italian)
Google Translate (in English via Google Translate)
Here, too, is a video clip of another Colombo, this one with a VW engine.
[video=youtube_share;R0s1sHypaZY]http://youtu.be/R0s1sHypaZY[/video]
Cheers,
Matthew