1978 Grumman AA 5A Cheetah Single Engine Piston Aircraft (SOLD)

Description

The Grumman American AA-5 series is a family of American all-metal, four-seat, light aircraft used for touring & training. All models of the AA-5 have four seats under a sliding canopy, which can be partly opened in flight for ventilation. Entry for all four occupants is from the wing root over the canopy sill. Compared to competitive aircraft of the same era the AA-5s are noted for their light & pleasant handling characteristics as well as high cruising speed for the installed power.

As derivatives of the original AA-1 Yankee, the AA-5 series share the same unique bonded aluminium wing & honeycomb fuselage that eliminates the need for rivets without sacrificing strength. The main landing gear is fibreglass with a spring-steel nose gear tube. There is no nose wheel steering as the nose wheel is free-castering through 180 degrees. Steering is by main wheel differential braking operated by using one’s toes to push the tops of the rudder pedals. The wings have dihedral to improve lateral stability.

Grumman’s engineers felt that the AA-5 design had more speed potential than the original Traveler, even with its 1975 improvements, & so embarked on an aerodynamic clean-up & redesign. Changes were made to the engine cowling & baffling to reduce cooling drag, the exhaust system was redesigned, the main landing gear fairings were further improved, the ventral fin was eliminated, & the horizontal tail was enlarged to allow a larger centre of gravity range. Fuel capacity was increased from the Traveler’s 37 US gallons to 52 gallons, thus increasing its range.

The new variant was named the AA-5A Cheetah & was introduced as a 1976 model in late 1975. In keeping with its namesake it was six knots (seven mph) faster than the Traveler with the same 150 hp (110 kW) Lycoming O-320-E2G powerplant. Because the Cheetah looked very much like the Traveler externally, Grumman’s marketing department created a “leaping cheetah” emblem to differentiate it from the earlier AA-5.

Grumman sold its light aircraft division to Gulfstream Aerospace in 1978 & the division was renamed Gulfstream American. Gulfstream continued production of the AA-5A until 1979. A total of 900 Cheetahs were produced.

AIRFRAME
HOURS: 1859 (+/- 5hrs)

ENGINE
MAKE: LYCOMING O-320-E2G
HOURS: 529 (+/- 5hrs)
OVERHAULED: January 2008

PROPELLER
HOURS: 188 (+/- 5hrs)
MAKE: MCCAULEY

LAST ANNUAL
Valid until 02/11/2023

LAST ARC
Valid until 02/11/2023