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Fast(ish) multirole 4 seaters..

I think that is a standard Socata POH practice.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Airborne_Again wrote:

Isn’t that generally the case for airplanes with normally aspirated engines?

Yea, around 7000 – 10’000 ft is usually the sweet spot for those airplanes.

What is remarkable however is that the Cougar’s POH does not give any performance figures above 12’000 ft, despite the fact that the service ceiling is indicated at 17400 ft. If I remember right, also the AA5 variants are said not to be happy at high altitudes. I wonder why. 12000 ft in any case is not very helpful for IFR in Europe, least of all around the Alps where MSA is above the service ceiling.

I wonder how the Cougar performs at close to the service ceiling.

Last Edited by Mooney_Driver at 29 Feb 22:49
LSZH(work) LSZF (GA base), Switzerland

Socata had done a deal to use the Cougar as the basis for the twin version of the TB range. It’s a shame that they decided to go in another direction instead by moving away from piston engined airceaft. Nice aircraft amd compares well to the Seminole, and Beech Duchess, on less power, the same as the Twin Comm.

France

Mooney_Driver wrote:

The optimum altitude for this airplane appears to be at about 8500 ft PA. That is where it will run the fastest (157 kts @ 19GPH) and the furthest (750/1200 NM @ 9 GPH and about 110 kts respectively for normal or LR fuel tanks)

Isn’t that generally the case for airplanes with normally aspirated engines? (Given that you use cruise power settings and not full power.)

ESKC (Uppsala/Sundbro), Sweden

desH wrote:

I ended up taking the plunge and buying an aircraft I’ve always had a hankering for, a GA7 Cougar

Wow. I’ve looked at several of those in the past and it kept intriguing me as a rather interesting airplane. Kind of the twin variant of the venable AA5 series which are known for their quite good performance, at least after Roy LoPresti was done with them. Congratulations and have fun with this plane!

Which version do you have? 114 USG or 76 USG usable? What is your empty weight?

The POH must be one of the better ones I have come across and yields some rather interesting figures.

The optimum altitude for this airplane appears to be at about 8500 ft PA. That is where it will run the fastest (157 kts @ 19GPH) and the furthest (750/1200 NM @ 9 GPH and about 110 kts respectively for normal or LR fuel tanks) The POH is neatly split into high speed cruise (75% with best power) and economy cruise (<65% with Eco power). In Eco power range goes up while speed decreases drastically. The sweet spot for range appears to be at 8000 ft where the 55% and 45% range curves cross and you will achieve the same range of about 1150 NM at 133 KTS (55%) or 109 KTS (45%). If one is in a hurry, range at 75% and max speed would decrease to about 850 to 900 NM at speeds between 150 and 159 kts.

This appears quite versatile for an airplane which flies with 2 times 160 hp. If I remember my figures rightly this is about comparable to a Seminole in terms of speed but with much better range. The normally aspirated Twin Comanche in comparison is however a bit faster (145 kts @ 55% to 170 kts @ 75% and 8000 ft) but similar in range with similar fuel capacity. However, the Twin Comanche is known for its rather complex systems and often antiquated panel so the Cougar appears to be a more modern solution to almost the same problem.

Have fun and let us know how you are getting on with it. And if you can, post a pic of your panel :)

LSZH(work) LSZF (GA base), Switzerland

Ibra wrote:

Taking my comment on twins back , did you stayed at that gite?

Yes we stayed at the domaine – they produce a lot of the stuff there locally. (Foie gras, wine etc…). Think they have a minimum requirement for hours etc that year if I remember correctly as it is a private strip and you need permission to land there. (gras, uphill, etc…)

W.

LFHN - Bellegarde - Vouvray France

Taking my comment on twins back , did you stayed at that gite? Or just regular flyer nearby?

Ps: I spend time mid Aug every year just 3km down the road

Last Edited by Ibra at 26 Feb 21:39
Paris/Essex, France/UK, United Kingdom


Ibra wrote:

the strip is probably tight for twins with just 550m usable (could not take Mooney and feels tight in an Archer/C172 )

It has quite the slope and I have twice landed there, easily in my single, and with a friends twin Comanche.

Last Edited by LFHNflightstudent at 26 Feb 20:56
LFHN - Bellegarde - Vouvray France

Jujupilote wrote:

You can check out Rebeyrotte, which is a known gite with an airstrip near Bergerac

I highly note this place for anyone going there, the owner is super welcoming (he even proposed shipping extra fuel from Bergerac once), the strip is probably tight for twins with just 550m usable (could not take Mooney and feels tight in an Archer/C172 )

Congrats desH for that second engine !

Last Edited by Ibra at 26 Feb 19:05
Paris/Essex, France/UK, United Kingdom

Wonderful plane!

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