I've read thousands of Dick's posts and if there is one underlining theme it is the significance of aircraft weight on performance. So often you read of accounts of someones efforts in stuffing twice a big a motor into an already overweigh bloated design and wondering why it don't fly well. While more motor may make an airplane fly faster or climb faster, being able to operate at a wider range of flight speeds with a lighter weight usually makes for a better flying model.

If you cut the weight of the structure of the Cub by half, the total flying weight is reduced by a third. It would take a third less wing area, and thus the drag would be reduced by maybe 10-15%. So less power would be required to maintain speed. Excellent examples of doing more with less would be Van's Aircraft RV-9 with a O-235 (30 mpg at 150 mph), and his new RV-12 which weighs about 80 lbs less than a quite simular Rans S-19. 80 lbs means a lot in an airplane limited to 1320 lbs, and represents an increase in useful load of 16%.