Chipper became a massive disappointment for me as it developed, although I'm coming around.
I knew it back when it was Pipper (James renamed it to avoid confusion with Piper, and not to deal with a cease-and-desist trademark dispute). When Pipper debuted, it was supposed to be so light, that power of HKS-700E was sufficient to lift 2 people. The secret sauce was the aluminum honeycomb.
I am flying a single-seater, and I have to deal with its limitations. Also, my airplane is clearly overweight, being constructed like a Cub, with steel tube fuselage, aluminum spars and ribs, and fabric. It checks in at 525 lbs.
If James could stick to his original budget of 500+ lbs, it would be astonishing. But it was impossible. He just above 600 lbs now (550 lbs with a Hirth wink wink). Also, the performance was going to be disappointing. So, he swapped HKS out for the 80 hp Rotax 912. These changes put Chipper into a category of just another LSA. You know, Apollo flies on 80 hp 912. It's not that unique. And although the 80 hp 912 is cheaper than the 100 hp one, it's still around $15k.
Falling far short of the original goal was a big letdown, but otherwise, a 600 lbs airplane is quite good, even revolutionary. I looked up old LSAs that I flew in and Remos GX was 710 lbs, and the fully loaded CTLS was 815 lbs. So I can see why James went that route.
