Rainbow Cheetah

The Rainbow Cheetah a South African ultralight and light-sport aircraft, designed by Vladimir Chechin and produced by Rainbow Aircraft. The aircraft is supplied as a kit for amateur construction or as a complete ready-to-fly-aircraft.^[1]

Cheetah
Role	Ultralight aircraft and Light-sport aircraft
National origin	South Africa
Manufacturer	Rainbow Aircraft
Designer	Vladimir Chechin
Status	In production (2012)
Developed from	Best Off Skyranger
Variants	Rainbow Cheetah XLS

Design and development

The aircraft was derived from the Best Off Skyranger^[1] and designed to comply with Canadian Advanced Ultralight criteria and the US light-sport aircraft rules. It features a strut-braced high-wing, a two-seats-in-side-by-side configuration enclosed cockpit with optional doors for access, fixed tricycle landing gear or optionally conventional landing gear and a single engine in tractor configuration.^[1][2]

The aircraft is made from bolted-together aluminum tubing, with its flying surfaces covered in Dacron sailcloth. Its 9.6 m (31.5 ft) span wing has an area of 13.25 m² (142.6 sq ft) and mounts flaps. Standard engines available are the 64 hp (48 kW) Rotax 582 two-stroke, the 80 hp (60 kW) Rotax 912UL and the 100 hp (75 kW) Rotax 912ULS four-stroke powerplants.^[1]

The Cheetah XLS has been accepted by Transport Canada as an Advanced Ultralight as both a land plane and seaplane, powered by the Rotax 582 two-stroke, the Rotax 912UL, the Rotax 912ULS, the Verner VM133 and the 85 hp (63 kW) Jabiru 2200A engines.^[3]

Operational history

By August 2012 there were three Cheetahs on the Federal Aviation Administration registry and two on the Transport Canada Civil Aircraft Register.^[4][5]

Variants

Cheetah XLS

Current production model (2012) with tricycle landing gear.^[1][6]

Cheetah XLS Taildragger

Current production model (2012) with conventional landing gear.^[1][7]

Specifications (Cheetah XLS)

Data from Bayerl and manufacturer^[1][8]

General characteristics

• Crew: one
• Capacity: one passenger
• Length: 5.67 m (18 ft 7 in)
• Wingspan: 9.6 m (31 ft 6 in)
• Height: 1.9 m (6 ft 3 in) to top of wing
• Wing area: 13.25 m² (142.6 sq ft)
• Aspect ratio: 7.01
• Empty weight: 248 kg (547 lb)
• Gross weight: 560 kg (1,235 lb)
• Fuel capacity: 100 litres (22 imp gal; 26 US gal)
• Powerplant: 1 × Rotax 912UL four cylinder, liquid and air-cooled, four stroke aircraft engine, 60 kW (80 hp)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 177 km/h (110 mph, 96 kn)
• Cruise speed: 135 km/h (84 mph, 73 kn)
• Stall speed: 56 km/h (35 mph, 30 kn) flaps down
• Never exceed speed: 201 km/h (125 mph, 109 kn)
• Range: 1,080 km (670 mi, 580 nmi) with reserves
• Endurance: 7.5 hours
• g limits: +6g/-4g
• Maximum glide ratio: 10:1
• Rate of climb: 5.3 m/s (1,040 ft/min)
• Wing loading: 42.3 kg/m² (8.7 lb/sq ft)