The Colomban Cri-Cri is the world's smallest twin-engine aircraft for a pilot. See its dimensions, engine variants and important record caveats.
In real-world aviation, the Colomban Cri-Cri (also called the CriCri or Cricket) is generally recognised as the world's smallest twin-engine manned aircraft. French engineer Michel Colomban designed this single-seat homebuilt in the 1970s. At about 3.9 metres long with a 4.9-metre wingspan, it is smaller than many ordinary single-engine aeroplanes.
Why is the Cri-Cri considered the smallest twin-engine aircraft?
Its dimensions and low empty mass make the Cri-Cri the accepted answer when “aircraft” means a piloted, fixed-wing aeroplane with two independent engines.
There is no universal record category covering every possible definition of “smallest”. Uncrewed aircraft and models are normally excluded, while record claims may be based on wingspan, length or mass. The Cri-Cri is also a single-seat amateur-built design, not the smallest two-seat, passenger-carrying or factory-produced twin.
Its two engines sit close together near the centreline and each drives a separate propeller. It is therefore a genuine twin-engine aircraft rather than a single engine with two cylinders or propellers.
How small is the Colomban Cri-Cri?
A typical piston-powered MC-15 is roughly the size shown below, although individual homebuilt examples and other Cri-Cri variants differ.
| Measurement | Typical published figure |
|---|---|
| Length | About 3.9 m (12 ft 10 in) |
| Wingspan | About 4.9 m (16 ft 1 in) |
| Height | About 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in) |
| Empty mass | About 78 kg (172 lb) |
| Maximum mass | About 170 kg (375 lb) |
| Seating | One pilot |
These are representative figures, not specifications for every aircraft carrying the Cri-Cri name. Builder choices, equipment, engine installations and later modifications can change both mass and performance.
What engines does the Cri-Cri use?
The familiar MC-15 version uses two small single-cylinder, two-stroke piston engines producing approximately 15 hp each. JPX PUL 212 engines are commonly associated with this version, driving fixed-pitch propellers.
Earlier variants used lower-powered engines. Individual Cri-Cri airframes have also been adapted for different piston engines, electric propulsion and miniature turbines, so specifications from one version should not be applied automatically to another.
How fast is the Cri-Cri?
Published figures for a typical 15 hp piston installation place cruising speed near 190 km/h (118 mph) and maximum speed near 220 km/h (137 mph).
Those figures depend heavily on the precise build, propellers, engine condition, pilot mass and atmospheric conditions. They are reference values for the design rather than guaranteed performance for every amateur-built example.
Can the Cri-Cri fly on one engine?
An engine failure does not automatically make the Cri-Cri uncontrollable, but the remaining engine may provide too little power to maintain altitude.
Because the engines are mounted close to the centreline, an engine failure produces less asymmetric yaw than it would on many wing-mounted twins. Total available power is still effectively halved, and single-engine climb capability can disappear with high mass, high density altitude or a poorly performing remaining engine.
Real pilots must use the documentation and flight-test data for the individual aircraft rather than generic speeds. Our explanation of one-engine control and landing in a twin covers the wider principles, but it does not replace type-specific instruction.
Can you fly the Cri-Cri in a flight simulator?
Yes, although a simulator model is better for examining the aircraft's unusual size and layout than proving its real-world performance. Our library includes a flyable FS2004 recreation of the Cri-Cri MC15.
Engine-out behaviour deserves particular caution. A simulator's generic piston-engine model may not reproduce the Cri-Cri's two-stroke response, small propellers or closely spaced thrust lines accurately. If an add-on maintains altitude easily on one engine, that should not be treated as evidence that the real aircraft will do the same.