I was checking this Grumman out this morning on Contoller and realized it looks like a combo of a C310 and a Baron 55 or didn't I have enough coffee yet?
http://www.controller.com/listingsdetai ... 265719.htm

Cougars are very cool rides. They have the same performance as a Duchess or Seminole, but with 40hp less.

I'd imagine it would be very hard to find a certified twin that cost less to operate.

I seem to remember, though, that there just aren't that many out there...far less than the number of Tigers and Cheetas, and production was never restarted during the various iterations of the Tiger line. Maybe on the order of a 100 or so. I also want to say the type certificate and what not was split off from the rest of the Grumman line a few years ago, and sold to outside interests.

Best,
Rich

I'm seeing the bastard offspring of a Duchess and an Apache Geronimo.

One of our members, Mike Nolan owned one for years ... Seemed like a great little airplane to me. I thought Socata had purchased the type certificate for that airplane years ago. Not sure what ever came of that.

A delightful flying airplane. I considered buying into a partnership. In
researching the type, I learned ...

Be aware (beware?) that the center-section, spar carry-through has a
life limit ... ~5,000 hours as I recall. Not a cheap repair.

There's one for rent in Dayton, OH at I19 if you want a test ride. Poor SE climb performance even at SL if I recall correctly. http://www.macairaeroclub.com/aircraft.php

SOCATA did purchase the type certificate for the plane. They considered two versions to be called TB-320 and TB-360 Tangara based on different engine HP. None were ever built by SOCATA, three GA7 were used as prototypes.

To go with the TB20 Trinidad, some people joked it would be the TB-360 Twin-adad.

I did my initial MEL training in a Cougar, it was a sweet, honest ride. Roomy cabin, lots of "big airplane" features. Very gentle at VMC.

I read somewhere that the initial trainer model was supposed to be followed by a higher-performance model that was supposed to be a true traveling a/c with 220ish HP per-side engines.

Doug, where did you get your information on the spar life limit?
According to the Type Cert its 47,674 hrs. I suggest you look it up before you make claims. (Search FAA Type Cert for a GA7)
There are plenty of examples of trainers that are OVER 10,000 Hrs, how would you explian that (as well as the Type Cert doc)?

I own one and its fabulous.

Just trying to keep its clean name/reputation clean.
I came across this "post" searching GA7.
Thanks for listening.

> where did you get your information on the spar life limit?

From the favorite repair/maint shop (recommended by the local
Tiger owners ... IIRC, it was in Indiana. Possibly, PA. I was
inquiring about a pre-buy for an airframe that had nearly 4,000 TT.
They wanted me to know about the looming repair and suggested
looking for a lower-time airframe.

> I own one and its fabulous.

It was a delightful light twin.

> I suggest you look it up before you make claims ... how do you explian (sic) ...
> blah, blah, blah.

I suggest you [re]consider your tone. Mostly; unwelcome ...