https://www.barnstormers.com/listing.ph ... ser=194920

My goodness - glass panel, great engines, RADAR in a cougar

I live nearby but wasn't previously familiar with the plane. Don't know the owner

No mention of useful load, my guess is, not much.

I may have seen this at KHKS.

Robert

I was hoping your mention of a TWIN would lead me to my search for a PA-44 Seminole.

Been looking for 2+ years and they are more scarce then this Cougar.

Paul
(In search of late model PA-44)

What happens if they don't appear and the existing twins get houred out? When do you hit the panic button Paul?

Thats the question I've been asking myself also.

Piper is still making them so maybe a new one is the only option. BUT, $800K + USD is
far in excess of my love for a twin.

Cougar report...

https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all ... a-rare-cat

That's definitely a top of the pile Cougar for anyone interested, have been aware (but do not know the owner) of this plane for a few years now, hope new owner loves it.

I'm having a blast with mine (Aspen1000/GTN750). Just a fun flying, honest plane that's affordable to operate for those of us that can't afford sustaining/feeding a Baron or similar. Wasn't sure if any Cougar owners were on these boards so figured I'd comment. Sure, it won't compare to a Baron in load or speed, but flies great, stable, surprisingly roomy IFR platform that goes 150-160 Kts on 15-16GPH total for multi-engine time/redundancy. Engine overhaul is ~$17.8K with new accessories per a couple quotes I've received when needed.

Different note, VMC is below stall speed, so as far as light twins go, it won't climb worth a damn on one fully loaded on a hot high day right at take-off, just pick your spot.... but it also isn't itching at the bit to flop over and kill you so long as you keep flying the plane. I've done a few single engine go-arounds from short final w/ instructor; it's doable and once you have a few hundred feet gravy, but don't do it fully loaded, just land.

No plans to sell mine anytime soon, and I sure love that second engine while droning along in cruise at night or over water.....

Why do you want a twin? And, why a Seminole?

it's more for the flying school I'm involved with then my personal airplane. We have 2 now and in search for #3. we Like to keep the training fleet all the same for simplicity and costs savings on maintenance, parts etc.

This Cougar does sound interesting though.

What about something cheap like this and doing paint/avionics/engines?

http://www.transglobalaviation.net/airc ... _Seminole/

Cougars are really, really neat planes. In a different circumstance I'd have one as I've loved them forever.

BUT...

There's a sad story that goes with Cougars. As most might know they're part of the AA/Grumman line of airplanes that the Tiger and Cheetah (and Traveler and AA-1 Yankee) belong to. While there have been intermittent efforts to produce the Tiger since then, none of the others were ever resurrected that I am aware of.

So some years ago, as the story goes, Socata (maker of the Caribbean line) wanted to do a twin, so they bought the tooling, drawing, parts and certificates from whoever owned the Grumman line at that point. They loaded everything into a couple shipping containers and sent them to Europe.

Socata did a couple of prototypes and then gave up on the project. Fast forward to a few years ago, and a believer in the Cougar Cause tried to re-patriate the Cougar line and spent a considerable sum of money doing so, only to find out that the shipping containers were not properly stored and everything was ruined and/or unusable.

What I don't know is what this means for Cougar support. If the tooling, drawings and remaining parts were ruined, that means you're left with whatever NOS or salvage still exists for airframe support, other than owner produced or that is interchangeable with the rest of the Grumman line.

You would think that if someone "owns" the production certificates, that extends beyond the actual paper, and that the balance could be resurrected from files from the FAA, but that might be nigh impossible and you'd still face recreating the tooling involved. I'm curious as to how tooling might be ruined to the point where you couldn't duplicate it, but again, that might be an economic issue.

This is one of those bummer stories that I really wish had worked out a different way.

Best,
Rich

What about something cheap like this and doing paint/avionics/engines?

http://www.transglobalaviation.net/airc ... _Seminole/