About 20 years back -a designer in Ogden Utah made a plane he called the Weedhopper - I visited with him looked over the manufacturing facility -discussed his goals ,which were for a faster Weedhopper (?!).
The story ends tragically in Ca., with his demise in a new design --which stalled in at low speed .
I have always been puzzled by the desire , always for faster ,very small personal craft.
My idea was for a small extremely light design which would fly from say a walking speed to -whatever speed -
anyway, a plane which in an emergency, could be simply reduced to walking speed then allowed to hit whatever terrain existed.
At my tender age ,I have far too many friends who died in light aircraft -and the reason was always . moment of judgement lapse --in a non forgiving enviroment..
Never a airframe failure -except for a takeoff flameout on a Dyke Delta - a horror of a design.
The reason I mused on the idea of much lighter and more power , was to try to imagine just how good a small air machine could have been, if these "super" materials and engines had ever existed.
I really doubt the machine would look like anything we now fly.
Maybe a backpack engine wih a folding wing -like those panels used on sattelite solar collecters.
These tiny model electric contraptions we play with, seemingly contradict many fixed ideas of controlled heavier than air machines .
They rekindle my thoughts along these "what if" lines.
Makes for great dreams----