Bushcat light sport and experimental light sport aircraft, Daniela Knoll, www.bushcatusa.com
#Bushcat #Skyreach #Aerosport #BushcatUSA
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Let’s move right to an important point. BushCat is most interesting aircraft with unique features of interest to many and you are much more likely to afford. You can purchase the craft ready to fly as an LSA or save some money by assembling a kit version of this Special LSA.
SkyReach engineers were able to raise weight from 1,245 to 1,320 pounds by strengthening components like wing strut brackets, then followed by an intense program of flight testing to include an entire regimen of spin testing (the latter representing much more work than many pilots may think). What does this do for BushCat beside bringing its numbers up to the max allowed in the LSA category?
Quite significantly, BushCat’s useful load now elevates to 617 pounds with 25 gallons of fuel. That means payload with full fuel is 465 pounds, which allows two 200-hundred pound occupants plus 65 pounds of cargo or other airborne gear. So, a very modest price - about what many expected eleven years ago when the SP/LSA rule was announced, all the more impressive as the time value of money has changed considerable in that period - and you get more utility for the dollars you spend. I’d call that win-win.
I find, as do many others I’ve asked, that BushCat is a handsome, rather gutsy looking light aircraft. Originally known by the name Cheetah, it has a distinctive cowling for a sharp look and is light and durable - empty weight is barely over 700 pounds - that helps assure robust performance. BushCat is flown with a control stick mounted between both occupants, forward of the central arm rest. As SkyReach notes, “This configuration allows the pilot to keep his or her hand on the stick at all times, freeing the other hand for the throttle and panel mounted instruments.” Using a single joystick keeps control system complexity to a minimum and allows easier cockpit entry and exit.
A couple years ago, one of the bigger changes SkyReach engineers made to BushCat was a move from a more complicated braced undercarriage to a sprung undercarriage. The new design uses a slab-style aluminum spring gear that SkyReach says provides a more accommodating load dampening resulting in softer off-airport landings. This airplane does duty in South Africa fighting animal poaching and can handle rough-field operation. It also features removable doors, which may work well for the anti-poaching task but also appeals to those of use that like open cockpit on warm summer days.
BushCat is a sturdy airplane boasting a +6, -4 G rating. It’s construction looks simple with a tube-and-gusset arrangement but such designs have proven themselves over literally decades of safe operation. Wing and fuselage use a trilaminate composite fabric covering that requires no paint, saving both effort and weight. Trilam is commonly used in the sailing industry for yacht sails and by hang glider producers. It is an incredibly strong material and has proved itself against the elements; sailboats spend a lot of time exposed to sun and salt water, both tough environmental taskmasters.
Represented in the USA by AeroSport LLC, the Wisconsin outfit has an enlarged base of operations based at the Galt, Illinois airport (identifier 10C) where the Knolls operate a flight school, maintenance shop, and a build center in addition to their SLSA showroom. BushCat is available in tri-gear, taildragger and an amphibious model can handle the allowed gross weight of 1,430 pounds. No straight floats are offered but most pilots prefer amphibious. Kits are also available both as Experimental Amateur Built or as faster-to-fly ELSA.
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Bushcat Tom
/ ahretro
28 апр 2021
