Ran across this, which seems more reasonable.
The Sport Hornet.
http://www.sporthornet.com/
Finally, a fully certified Special – Light Sport Aircraft (S-LSA) that is fun, functional and affordable. With a “fly-it-away” price that begins at under $50,000, you can realize your dream of owning an airplane that will take you anywhere at over 100 knots for under $15 per hour of direct operating cost. For even more savings, and the thrill of assembling your own airplane, check out the E-LSA version of the Sport Hornet. Go from delivery to “in the air” for well under $40,000 in less than three weeks.
http://www.sporthornet.com/descriptive_data.htm
I figured 6.5 lbs per gallon of fuel X 18 gallon capacity = 117 Lbs.
They list a useful load of 690 Lbs. - 117 Lbs. Fuel =
573 Lbs. Full Fuel Useful Load.
Their website explains the way it's built and the decisions they made in choosing it's materials and it seems impressive to a n00b.
Here's a link to a Sport Pilot Talk thread on the Sport Hornet.
http://www.sportpilottalk.com/viewtopic.php?p=3091
And finally, here's some video. It's one of the craft mentioned in Lightsport Aircraft Video Magazine Issue 32
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7chBmQ0fcXQ