Question for the Grumman guys

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Fredbob711

Pre-takeoff checklist
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Fredbob711
I was looking over the Wikipedia page for the AA5 line and noticed an interesting thing in the 'Variants' section. It lists an AA5C with 1 prototype produced, but it's not mentioned anywhere in the article. Did a couple of quick Google searches but couldn't find anything on it. What was this model supposed to be?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grumman_American_AA-5
 
It's possible this refers to the Turbo Tiger prototype which was built back in the 1970's. It had a 200HP turbocharged engine and a retractable nose gear. After the aircraft was tested, the unique engine mount/nose gear assembly was removed and the aircraft remanufactured and sold as a standard AA-5B Tiger (I think either Ken Blackman at Air Mods NW or Loyd Montague at True Flight Aerospace knows the N-number). Last I heard, the engine mount/gear assembly was hanging on the wall at what was Jon Maestre's shop in Brookville OH (which since Jon's death over ten years ago was taken over by others), but I don't know if it's still there.

And if that's not the AA-5C prototype to which they are referring, I can't imagine what it is. I have reason to believe True Flight Aerospace (the current type certificate holder) is doing some planning for an uprated (and maybe stretched) Tiger with a 200-230HP engine, but I don't think that's any more than some back-of-the-envelope sketches -- not even in the blueprint stage.
 
Thanks Ron, that's interesting information. I imagine the Turbo Tiger would be what it's referring to. I know Wikipedia isn't the most reliable source of info, but that stood out to me.

Put me on the list for the True Flight Aerospace uprated Tiger, I might even be able to afford it by the time they start working on getting it certified. I try and keep an eye on their site for updates, but they're few and far between.

Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk
 
What was the AA5C

From Ken Blackmon
Answer: That was probably the "Turbo Tiger" or "Panther" as it was to be named. I have photos of it at Savannah. if interested, I can e-mail them to you after scaning them into the computer. It had (as I was told) the Lycoming TO-360 engine but I have heard others say it was a Contenental TIO-360. I never say it uncowled I know it was an "updraft cooled" installation. I was told by people at Grumman American they could not get it to deliver 200 MPH and the company wouldn't produce it if it would dnot do that minimum speed.

That and many other things may be more "hearsay" the "truth" so don't consider me an absolute source of such history. There was also a prototype (actually 2 different ones) of a trainer that I was told one would have been the AA-1D. The other was a modified AA-5 fuselage with a crucifix tail and rounded aft belly that would have not had a rear seat that I have lots of photos of. It would have had some derivative of "AA-5x" designation and I never heard what that was.
 
So if there was an AA-1 Yankee, an AA-2 Patriot and an AA-5 Traveler, then was there ever an AA-3 or AA-4?
 
asicer said:
So if there was an AA-1 Yankee, an AA-2 Patriot and an AA-5 Traveler, then was there ever an AA-3 or AA-4?
Click to expand...
According to a June 1970 Flying magazine article, American Aviation planned to develop a family of airplanes based on the AA-2 Patriot. The AA-3 would have been a single-engine retractable, and the AA-4 a twin:

American hopes to have the four seater on the market by 1971, followed soon by the retractable AA 3. The gear up paperwork's all done, and the nosegear on the prototype AA 2 even has retraction pins, all ready for rework. This is one reason that the AA 2 doesn't use the unique Yankee swiveling strut nose gear; it wouldn't retract, at least not without the help of Rube Goldberg as a consulting engineer. (Also, American quite rightly feels that anyone who pays the bread for the AA 2 won't be so amenable to dancing on the brakes for steering as is a Yankee customer.)

In 1972, look for the twin. You'll recognize it when you see it; it looks like a Wing Derringer with room for four, and is based on the AA 2 fuselage with a pointy nose and two flat nacelled engines (either Lycoming 180 hp 0 360s or a pair of Continental Tiara 4 180s) and sleek, airfoil shaped tiptanks.
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The disparaging remark about swiveling nose gear and steering with the brakes seems quaint, now that they are the norm on new high-end, high-performance singles.
 
Pilawt said:
According to a June 1970 Flying magazine article, American Aviation planned to develop a family of airplanes based on the AA-2 Patriot. The AA-3 would have been a single-engine retractable, and the AA-4 a twin:
Click to expand...

Interesting. So that numeric sequence would imply that the AA-6 would have been a Tiger-ish retract since the AA-7 (GA-7) Cougar replaced the AA-4 twin. One wonders what the performance targets were.

The disparaging remark about swiveling nose gear and steering with the brakes seems quaint, now that they are the norm on new high-end, high-performance singles.
Click to expand...

Well, most modern high-end high-performance singles don't have retractable nosegear. The Panthera does, but the nosegear looks like it has a hydraulic strut.
 
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