The Rainbow Cheetah a
South African
ultralight and
light-sport aircraft
A light-sport aircraft (LSA), or light sport aircraft, is a fairly new category of small, lightweight aircraft that are simple to fly. LSAs tend to be heavier and more sophisticated than ultralight (aka "microlight") aircraft, but LSA restrictio ...
, designed by Vladimir Chechin and produced by
Rainbow Aircraft
Rainbow SkyReach (Pty) Ltd is a South African aircraft manufacturer based at the Springs Airfield in Dal Fouche, Springs, Gauteng. It was formerly known as Rainbow Aircraft (Pty) Ltd. The company specialises in the design and manufacture of fi ...
. The aircraft is supplied as a kit for
amateur construction or as a complete ready-to-fly-aircraft.
[Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12'', page 72. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485X]
Design and development
The aircraft was derived from the
Best Off Skyranger and designed to comply with Canadian
Advanced Ultralight criteria and the US light-sport aircraft rules. It features a
strut-braced
In aeronautics, bracing comprises additional structural members which stiffen the functional airframe to give it rigidity and strength under load. Bracing may be applied both internally and externally, and may take the form of strut, which act in ...
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.
The aircraft is made from bolted-together
aluminum tubing, with its flying surfaces covered in
Dacron sailcloth. Its span wing has an area of and mounts
flaps. Standard engines available are the
Rotax 582 two-stroke, the
Rotax 912UL and the
Rotax 912ULS four-stroke
A four-stroke (also four-cycle) engine is an internal combustion (IC) engine in which the piston completes four separate strokes while turning the crankshaft. A stroke refers to the full travel of the piston along the cylinder, in either directio ...
powerplants.
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
The Verner VM 133 is a family of Czech two cylinder, horizontally opposed, four stroke aircraft engines, designed and built by Verner Motor of Šumperk.Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12'', p ...
and the
Jabiru 2200A
The Jabiru 2200 is a lightweight naturally aspirated, pushrod four-stroke, flat four, air-cooled aircraft engine produced by Jabiru Aircraft.
Design and development
The conventional direct-drive engine is fitted with an alternator, silencers, v ...
engines.
Operational history
By August 2012 there were three Cheetahs on the
Federal Aviation Administration registry and two on the
Transport Canada Civil Aircraft Register.
Variants
;Cheetah XLS
:Current production model (2012) with tricycle landing gear.
;Cheetah XLS Taildragger
:Current production model (2012) with conventional landing gear.
Specifications (Cheetah XLS)
References
External links
*
{{Rainbow Aircraft
2000s South African ultralight aircraft
Homebuilt aircraft
Light-sport aircraft
Single-engined tractor aircraft