This 1976 Grumman American AA-5A Cheetah Is a Compact, Efficient ‘Aircraft For Sale’ Top Pick

1976 Grumman American AA-5A Cheetah [Courtesy: Jon Spaulding]

Each day, the team at Aircraft For Sale picks an airplane that catches our attention because it is unique, represents a good deal, or has other interesting qualities. You can read Aircraft For Sale: Today’s Top Pick at FLYINGMag.com daily.

Today’s Top Pick is a 1976 Grumman American AA-5A Cheetah.

When a Grumman American Cheetah—or a Yankee, Traveler, or Tiger—shows up at the airport, I immediately begin to think about the aircraft’s interesting history.

While its design evolved from the late Jim Bede’s kitbuilt two-seater BD-1, a number of companies produced the Cheetah and its siblings over the years, including the business jet powerhouse Gulfstream.

The compact Grumman Americans are fairly basic aircraft, with fixed gear and fixed-pitch propellers, but they are known for surprisingly high cruising speeds and overall performance. The 108 hp Tiger, which is the most powerful version of the AA-5 airframe, is known to keep pace with some 200 hp retractables.

For many pilots, the simple, reliable and fuel-efficient design lies in a sweet spot. The Cheetah provides good traveling performance and responsive handling that give it a sporty, higher-performance feel. Add the signature sliding canopy, and you have the stuff of fighter-pilot fantasies.

This 1976 Cheetah has 2,650 hours on the airframe, 380 hours on its 150 hp Lycoming O-320 E2G engine since overhaul and 372 hours on the propeller since overhaul. The aircraft is equipped with a Challenger air filter.

The panel includes a Garmin GTR 200 Comm radio, Narco NAV-121 with localizer and glideslope, Apollo II GPS, King KT 76A transponder, uAvionix TailBeacon with ADS-B Out, and an EGT instrument.

Pilots searching for a fun-to-fly, versatile and economical four-place aircraft that can handle training, local flights and cross-country travel should consider this 1976 Grumman American AA-5A Cheetah, which is available for $69,000 on AircraftForSale.

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