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.

If you’re interested in financing, you can do so with FLYING Finance. Use its airplane loan calculator to calculate your estimated monthly payments. Or, to speak with an aviation finance specialist, visit flyingfinance.com.

• FLYING Magazine: Approachable Aircraft: Grumman AA-5 Series
• FLYING Magazine: Flying Lessons: When Cheetahs Were Fast
• FLYING Magazine: Tiger Is Back
• FLYING Magazine: Air Compare: Grumman AA-5 vs. Mooney M20 Series
• Plane & Pilot: Gulfstream American Cheetah
• Plane & Pilot: This Incredible Plane: Bede BD-1
• The Aviation Consumer: Grumman Tiger/Cheetah

The post This 1976 Grumman American AA-5A Cheetah Is a Compact, Efficient ‘Aircraft For Sale’ Top Pick appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

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

It is safe to say that the story behind the popularity of Grumman American’s family of compact AA-5 aircraft lies in the details.

Innovative design elements, such as bonded wing skins and honeycomb fuselage construction, eliminated the rivets common on other GA aircraft of the same era. The company continuously made small aerodynamic improvements to raise the aircraft’s cruising speed and fuel efficiency. The sliding canopy, while a practical convenience for ingress and egress, is also a cool feature that pilots love.

The four-seat AA-5 series that includes the basic 150 hp Traveler, the faster 180 hp Tiger, and the Cheetah for sale here developed from the American Aviation AA-1 Yankee, a two-seat Jim Bede design that traced its origins to Bede’s BD-1 kit concept of the early 1960s. Success with the Yankee compelled American Aviation to add a four-seat model, which would become the Traveler. Production began around the same time Grumman acquired American Aviation.

The Grumman American line, especially the Cheetah and Tiger, have a following among pilots who like their light, responsive handling and lively performance on relatively low horsepower and fuel consumption. People often draw parallels between the airplanes’ appeal and that of lightweight sports cars.

This 1976 AA-5A Cheetah has 2,850 hours on the airframe and 380 hours on its 160 hp Lycoming O-320 engine and Sensenich propeller. The panel includes dual Narco 122 navs, Garmin Aera 660, Garmin 225 and Icom A220T comms, single channel EGT/CHT, and digital OAT gauge with ice warning.

Pilots looking for an economical, efficient traveling airplane with responsive, engaging flight characteristics should consider this 1976 Grumman American AA-5A Cheetah, which is available for $90,000 on AircraftForSale.

You can arrange financing of the aircraft through FLYING Finance. For more information, email info@flyingfinance.com.

• FLYING Magazine: Air Compare: Grumman AA-5 vs. Mooney M20 Series
• FLYING Magazine: Flying Lessons: When Cheetahs Were Fast
• FLYING Magazine: Approachable Aircraft: Grumman AA-5 Series
• Plane & Pilot: Grumman American Trainer
• Plane & Pilot: Grumman American TR-2
• Plane & Pilot: Grumman American Gulfstream II/III/IV/V
• AVweb: Buying a Used Aircraft: Grumman Tiger/Cheetah

The post This 1976 Grumman American Cheetah Is a Responsive, Rewarding ‘AircraftForSale’ Top Pick appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

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

The innovative Grumman American series of piston singles are appealing for their history alone, with aviation pioneers Jim Bede and Roy LoPresti involved in their development. In the early 1960s Bede designed the BD-1, a kitbuilt two-seater that later developed into the AA-1 Yankee and the rest of the AA line that included the Cheetah. The aircraft featured bonded wing skins and other aerodynamic aides that helped them eke out higher cruising speeds than one might expect.

The Cheetah and other Grumman derivatives have a following among pilots who love their responsive handling, economical operation and, of course, sliding canopy. These airplanes are the winged equivalent of compact sports cars that are known more for fun than horsepower.

This Grumman American Cheetah has 3,236 hours on the airframe and 1,847 hours on its engine since overhaul. The panel features a Garmin GNC 250XL GPS, Narco CP 125 audio panel, King KY 197 Com, dual Narco Navs, Garmin Aera GPS, Narco AT 50 transponder, and  four-place intercom.

Pilots intrigued by the notion of enjoying sporty styling and performance from the same economical, reliable engine used in the Cessna 172 should consider this 1976 Grumman American AA-5A Cheetah, which is available for $60,000 on AircraftForSale.

You can arrange financing of the aircraft through FLYING Finance. For more information, email info@flyingfinance.com.

• FLYING Magazine: Approachable Aircraft: Grumman AA-5 Series
• FLYING Magazine: Air Compare: Grumman AA-5 vs. Mooney M20 Series
• Plane & Pilot: Grumman American Trainer
• Plane & Pilot: Grumman American TR-2
• The Aviation Consumer: Grumman Tiger/Cheetah

AVweb: Buying A Used Aircraft: Grumman Tiger/Cheetah

The post This 1976 Grumman American AA-5A Cheetah Is a Pioneering ‘AircraftForSale’ Top Pick appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Today’s Top Pick is a 1974 Grumman American AA-5 Traveler.

The Grumman American AA-5 Traveler and the rest of the company’s AA series began with the Bede 1, a kit aircraft developed by renowned and controversial designer James Bede. American Aviation acquired the design and later became part of Grumman. Grumman American developed a line of general aviation aircraft ranging from the two-seat Yankee and TR-2 trainer with Lycoming O-235 engines to the performance-oriented Tiger with a 180 hp O-360.

The AA-series airplanes are known for delivering stronger performance than many pilots would expect based on their power. Their notable cruise speeds and fuel economy stem in part from their bonded wing skins, which use strong honeycomb structures and no rivets, resulting in a durable, smooth, and aerodynamically clean surface. While the AA trainer aircraft proved a bit too sporty for many students, they appealed to experienced pilots seeking responsive handling. Today the AAs have a following but can often be found at bargain prices. 

This 1974 Grumman Traveler has 3,521 hours on the airframe and three hours on its 160 hp Lycoming O-320 engine since overhaul. The airplane has both a new Sensenich propeller and ducting for its heater and defroster. The panel includes a Garmin GNS 430, King KY197 transceiver, Garmin/Apollo SL70 transponder, Davtron M800 digital clock, Century autopilot, PS Engineering PMA 6000M audio panel, UAvionix ADS-B beacon, and FL202D digital fuel gauge. The aircraft also has a four-place intercom and four USB charging outlets.

Pilots looking for a compact, innovative, and economical four-place traveling aircraft with responsive handling should consider this 1974 Grumman American AA-55 Traveler, which is available for $95,000 on AircraftForSale.

You can arrange financing of the aircraft through FLYING Finance. For more information, email info@flyingfinance.com.

• FLYING Magazine: Approachable Aircraft: Grumman AA-5 Series
• FLYING Magazine: Air Compare: Grumman AA-5 vs. Mooney M20 Series
• FLYING Magazine: Garmin’s Retrofit Autopilot STCed for Additional Aircraft Models
• Plane & Pilot: Grumman American TR-2
• The Aviation Consumer: Panel Planner 101: Grumman – Light IFR
• The Aviation Consumer: Grumman Tiger/Cheetah

The post This 1974 Grumman American AA-5 Traveler Is a Compact, Fast, and Efficient ‘AircraftForSale’ Top Pick appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The cost to train pilots in advanced jet trainers, therefore, was following suit. One company in Germany spotted an opportunity for a more cost-effective alternative. If it could design an advanced trainer that was drastically less expensive to operate, it reasoned it would be of interest to militaries around the world.

The company was Rhein Flugzeugbau (RFB), and by starting with a clean-slate design, it proposed an entirely new aircraft called the Fantrainer. It would utilize a ducted fan nested within the empennage, and the forward section and cockpit would closely resemble operational jet fighters. By driving the ducted fan with one small turboshaft engine, fuel consumption would be dramatically reduced compared to pure jets. When combined with an airframe optimized for training and low manufacturing cost, RFB was confident the aircraft would sell well.

Developing a cost-effective advanced trainer wasn’t a new concept. Other manufacturers had pursued the military trainer market with single-engine turboprops, such as the Pilatus PC-7 and Beechcraft T-34C Turbo-Mentor. These had secured many military contracts, but the traditional propeller configuration provided handling and flight characteristics quite unlike the jets for which they were preparing their pilots. By integrating the ducted fan within the aft section of fuselage, RFB successfully eliminated virtually all of the left-turning tendencies of a single-engine turboprop and offered an advanced trainer with handling that was a much closer approximation to tactical jets.

The secret was in the shroud. Larger, conventional propellers come with distinct limitations— propeller efficiency drops off dramatically beyond a certain rpm, for example, limiting the maximum allowable rpm. By utilizing a small fan under 4 feet in diameter, it could be turned at a higher rpm, and the shroud can act as winglets do on wingtips, increasing efficiency even further. Additionally, sufficient propeller clearance requires longer, heavier landing gear, so the small fan permitted a more compact gear design.

For these benefits to be realized, however, tip clearances have to be tiny—in the case of the Fantrainer, about 2 millimeters—and this requires an extremely stiff structure. To achieve this, RFB designed the empennage around thin vertical and horizontal sections joined by the circular shroud. FLYING’s Peter Garrison wasn’t impressed, observing, “It would be difficult to imagine a less promising structural arrangement. Its numerous surfaces and intersections threaten to multiply sources of drag, while its peculiar load paths and concentrations do the same to weight.”

Performance was, therefore, underwhelming. RFB would ultimately manufacture two versions of the Fantrainer, and the more powerful 650 hp version would only achieve a 225-knot maximum speed—barely more than the aforementioned turboprop trainers, each with 100 less horsepower. And while the Fantrainer did indeed mimic the handling and feel of a jet, it came at the cost of unique, proprietary parts and systems that would introduce complexity to maintaining a fleet.

Accordingly, only 50 examples were built. These were delivered to the Luftwaffe and Royal Thai Air Force. In an attempt to expand and diversify its offerings, RFB teamed up with Grumman American to market the Fanliner, a futuristic two-seat light aircraft that paired a smaller ducted fan with a 114 hp twin-rotor Wankel rotary engine. Only two examples would be built.

Despite the limited sales, however, there remains a sliver of hope for the Fantrainer. In 2010,  German company FanJet Aviation GmbH bought the certification and tooling and is presently marketing it for military and civil training purposes. Unfortunately, the last news update on the company’s website was posted in July 2022, and no production orders appear to be forthcoming.

The post The RFB Fantrainer Turboprop Was Meant to Handle Like a Jet appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Today’s Top Pick is a 1977 Grumman American AA-5B Tiger.

When military contractor Grumman started building light general aviation aircraft, it focused, in part, on giving pilots more for less by offering the four-seat Tiger at a relatively low price while making it faster than many of its competitors.  Reviewers pointed out that the new aircraft’s performance left most competing fixed-gear models in the dust while challenging some four-seat retractables.

Grumman’s design incorporated a number of features that turned up on Cirrus decades later, including streamlined, fixed landing gear and a free-castering nose wheel. A sliding canopy eased ingress and egress while providing better visibility than many competitors. With a 180 hp Lycoming O-360, it could cruise at nearly 140 knots, which was fast among fixed-gear singles.

This Tiger has 3,512 hours on the airframe and 1,431 hours on its 180 hp engine since overhaul. Inside the cowling  there’s also a new engine-driven fuel pump, new carburetor, ignition module, engine baffles, Skytec starter, regulator and alternator, spark plugs, and battery. Upgraded lighting includes new LED landing, navigation, strobe, and rotating beacon lights.

The panel includes an Avidyne IFD 550, GFC 500 autopilot, dual Garmin G5s, WX 500 Stormscope, MVP-50 engine monitor, and Trig transponder with ADS-B.

Pilots looking for an economical four-seater with brisk performance and sharp aesthetics should consider this 1977 Grumman American AA-5B Tiger, received new paint and interior in 2019 and is available for $175,000 on AircraftForSale.

You can arrange financing of the aircraft through FLYING Financial Group. For more information, email info@flyingfinancial.com.

• FLYING Magazine: Approachable Aircraft: Grumman AA-5 Series
• FLYING Magazine: Air Compare: Grumman AA-5 vs. Mooney M20 Series
• FLYING Magazine: Aftermarket Stars Part 2: Great Used Planes for Less
• Plane & Pilot: 1979 Grumman American AA-5B Tiger

The post Today’s Top Aircraft For Sale Pick: 1977 Grumman American AA-5B Tiger appeared first on FLYING Magazine.