Grumman AA5A Cheetah
  • Passengers: -
  • Max takeoff weight: -
  • Max landing weight: -
  • Max fuel capacity: -
  • Max range: -
  • Max ceiling: -
  • Max cruising speed: -
  • Thrust/ Power -
WALL OF FAME
    • Name: Bob Hodo
    • Airline: Private
    • Date: 02 January 2012
    • Notes: Well, y'all, it has been a cold and windy couple days in the Heart of Dixie. With all the recent talk about quick trips southbound on the east coast I checked winds and temps aloft and saw a chance last evening. It was showing a strong band through Montgomery with 104mph at 12,000 and even more above that. Wind from 310 degrees. So I figured tacking (sailing term intentionally used) from Gadsden to Tuscaloosa while climbing, then a turn to Montgomery for the downwind, and then a broad reach back home would be fun. After the turn, a few slight heading changes to find the sweet spot, and I got 226kn level at 13,500. The air was absolutely smooth, felt like sitting in my living room. Then I pushed the nose over, pulling power back to stay at least in the vicinity of the redline, and saw a peak of 249kn on the gps, my best picture being 247kn. I didn't get the pic at 249 cause I kept hoping for the 250! I was really hoping to beat Ned's 254kn in his Tiger, but I either need more tailwind or constant speed prop! I think I could have made Savannah if I had lost power. :) The track can be seen at flightaware.com, punch in N477BG. It only records speed once per minute, and the highest it shows is 244kn. Bob Hodo playin in a cheetah
    • Name: Bob Hodo
    • Airline: Private
    • Date: 11 December 2009
    • Notes: One of the pictures shows the winds aloft for Huntsville Alabama this evening. Seeing these speeds, I decided to go for a record. I had never seen ground speeds greater than 179 kts in my plane before. Although the service ceiling for the Cheetah is 12,600, I can easily get to 15,000'. However I was on flight following hoping to get data on flightaware.com, the track of which begins after I have pulled back power and am descending through 12,000. Since I was on flight following, and did not have oxygen, I didn't want to bust the reg for going above 14,000, and not above 12,500 for more than 30 minutes. If you look at those winds above me you can see why higher would have been better! I was at 13,500' and the highest speed I saw was 218. The highest pic I have is 217kts. My gps is a Garmin/Apollo SL50. Also included is a picture of my freshly overhauled, freshly painted plane, still without stripes.
    • Name: John Horton pilot, Jim Harvey crew
    • Airline: n/a
    • Date: 03 April 2012
    • Notes: I saw where Bob held two records for the Cheetah and I couldn’t let it go uncontested. A cold front passed through the state and I saw an opportunity. My only regret was not consulting groundspeed records.com before the flight. I might have made second place if I did. It was a beautiful sunset flight as the sun sank into the Gulf of Mexico. Almost got to see the “Green Flash” but it only made it to yellow. Groundspeed on the way up to 12,500ft was 27kts! On the way down at 500fps and RPM at redline we saw 213 and photographed 212kts. This is fun thanks for the website!
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