Cheetah Vs Tiger

[Cy Wood]

age old question for this list?
well, it's a new issue for me.

I like the reduced price of the Cheetah and don't mind the decrease in speed too much but what else should I be aware of if I down grade from 180 to 150 hp?

Cyrus

[sideslip]

Cy: I am not familiar with the plane you are talking about, but in general, a decrease in horsepower will have a greater affect on the rate of climb than on the speed of the aircraft. For example, lets say that you have an airplane that with 180 Hp cruises at 120 kts and climbs at 1300 fpm. By reducing the horsepower to 150 the speed might drop to 115 kts but the climb rate would be more like 900 fpm. This is because the drag on an airplane increases exponentially with speed (i.e. you double your speed the drag increases by a factor of 4) so 30 more horsepower does not translate into much additonal speed. But rate of climb is another story. Rate of climb is determined by the amount of horsepower in excess of that needed for level flight. Lets say our plane at 150 HP has 70 HP available for climbing at Vy. By increasing the HP by 30 HP, you increase the power available for climbing by more than 40%. Thus, the climb rate is increased by 40%.

This is a very simplified discussion but is basically how the change in HP would affect your plane, although the speeds and rates of climb would be different than the example I gave. Hope this helps.

[skid]

Have not been in a tiger, but had a guy with a traveler take me to pick up an airplane.I believe a traveler is same as cheata,150hp 4 place. It was about 75-80 degree summer morning,full tanks and 2 175 lb guys. I thought the thing would never get off ground,then we climbed at 3-400 feet per min. Once we leveled off it was very fast for 150 fixed gear. I would not attempt to fill 4 seats unless you have plenty of concrete. Otherwise, was fast and flys nice, very docile.

[Fred]

Cy: As a Grumman owner there is a big difference between the two. The Tiger is the top of the line and faster as you know. Both carry four people. The Cheetah comes with a 150 or 160. The 150 can be made into a high compression 160 that performs very nicely. The cruise speeds will rival a standard Tiger and exceed other aircraft easily. Especially Cessnas and Pipers. A clean, sporty aircraft with great pilot loyalty. Check out aya.org or grumman.net for more information.