Colomban Cri-cri

what is it?

The Colomban Cri-Cri, also spelled Cricri, is the smallest twin-engined crewed aircraft in the world, designed in the early 1970s by French aeronautical engineer Michel Colomban. The name Cri-Cri comes from the nickname of Christine, one of Colomban's daughters. 'Cri-cri' 'or 'cricri' is also the French term for the sound of a cricket or a cicada, or an informal name for the insects themselves, but it is unclear if this double meaning was intended by Colomban himself.

🔎How to recognise it: 2 piston engines with propellers · 4.9 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 220 km/htop speed
• range 463 kmwithout refuelling
• seats 1passengers
• size 170 kgmax take-off weight

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 53 years ago, in 1973.
• 🏎️Top speed is 1.7× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight

1973

introduced

1973

number built

—

role

homebuilt recreational aircraft

makers

Michel Colomban

engines

2× JPX PUL 212

passengers

1

length

3.9 m

wingspan

4.9 m

height

1.2 m

max take-off weight

170 kg

top speed

220 km/h

cruise speed

185 km/h

range

463 km

ceiling

3,700 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.