The Gulfstream American GA-7 Cougar is an American all-metal, 4-seat, twin-engined

light aircraft A light aircraft is an aircraft that has a maximum gross takeoff weight of or less.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 308. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. Light aircraft are used as utility aircraft c ...

. The Cougar was a twin-engine development of the Gulfstream American AA-5B Tiger and traces its lineage to the AA-1 Yankee Clipper and the

Bede BD-1 The Bede BD-1 was a two-seat, single-engine, low-wing monoplane, the first design of American aeronautical engineer Jim Bede. The BD-1 was designed in 1960 as a kit-built aircraft intended for home assembly by amateur builders. Design goals includ ...

Development

As a development of the company's single-engined designs, Grumman American developed a twin-engined version, designated the GA-7 which it named the Cougar, in keeping with the existing Lynx, Cheetah and Tiger names for aircraft in the company's line. The prototype Cougar with two Lycoming O-320 engines first flew on the 29 December 1974. The prototype had a sliding canopy but this was soon changed to a starboard side door on the production aircraft. With other rework required the production prototype did not fly until 14 January 1977.Wood, Derek: ''Jane's World Aircraft Recognition Handbook'', page 233. Jane's Publishing Company, 1982. Before production started the company was taken over on 1 September 1978 by American Jet Industries, who changed the company name to Gulfstream American. Production of the Cougar ran for only two model years, 1978 and 1979, before production was halted. Just 115 Cougars were delivered. In 1995 the type certificate for the GA-7 was sold to

SOCATA SOCATA (later EADS Socata and DAHER-SOCATA) was a French producer of general aviation aircraft propelled by piston engines and turboprops, including business planes, small personal or training aircraft, as well as the production of aircraft stru ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

who intended to produce the aircraft as the TB 320 Tangara for the training market. It was also to develop a variant with two Lycoming O-360-A1G6 engines of each and a re-designed cockpit, it was designated the TB 360. The first Tangara was a modified Cougar, had engines and first flew in mid-1996. The complete Tangara prototype was also a converted Cougar and had the engines. It first flew in February 1997. After delays in getting the type certified SOCATA announced at the end of 1999 that it had delayed indefinitely plans to certify the type. On 23 May 2019 the type certificate was transferred by SOCATA to the Cougar Aircraft Corporation in the United States.European_Aviation_Safety_Agency
_Type_Certificate_Cougar_Aircraft_Corporation_GA7''_EASA.IM.A.381_dated_15_August_2019.html" ;"title="European Aviation Safety Agency">European Aviation Safety Agency
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Design

The Cougar is a twin-engined low-wing cantilever monoplane using a honeycomb and bonded metal construction that is the hallmark of the line since the BD-1. The prototype's single spar wing was upgraded to a double-spar configuration and this allowed a wet wing. The Cougar is powered by a pair of wing-mounted Lycoming O-320, Lycoming O-320-D1D engines of . It carries four people at maximum cruise speed of and a typical cruise speed of . It was certified under US

FAR Part 23 The Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs) are rules prescribed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) governing all aviation activities in the United States. The FARs comprise Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). A wide variety o ...

on 22 September 1977.

Variants

;GA7 Cougar : version designed by Grumman American and produced by Gulfstream American 1978-79. 115 built. ;TB 320 Tangara :Restarted production of the version by SOCATA, two modified Cougars were converted to Tangara prototypes 1996-97, production was never started. ;TB 360 Tangara :Re-designed variant from SOCATA with O-360 engines, one prototype, a modified Cougar, was first flown in 1997, never entered production.

Specifications (Gulfstream American GA-7 Cougar)

References

External links

* {{SOCATA aircraft

Cougar The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large Felidae, cat native to the Americas. Its Species distribution, range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mamm ...

TB 320 1970s United States civil utility aircraft Low-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1974 Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft