Cheetah Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) aircraft review, aircraft construction, history, design and building, Cheetah light sport aircraft background and aircraft design history.
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Cheetah lightsport aircraft background and history. |
| The Cheetah XLS kits are manufactured in South Africa by Rainbow Aircraft. The factory has been manufacturing trike weight shift aircraft since the early 90's. In 2000 a new fixed wing design the Cheetah was introduced into their line up. The craft was designed by Vladimir Chechin. The Cheetah XLS features bolt and rivet together aluminum tube construction. The builder does not have to do any welding, jigging or fabrication to complete the kit. The plane can be built with basic hand tools, with a rivet nut tool and socket set being the major tools. Once the sub assemblies are completed they are covered using Trylam body socks, which slip on over the frames. This fabric covering method has been used for decades in the ultralight aircraft industry, and the Trylam has proven itself to be very durable, and UV resistant. All the fiberglass components, such as the engine cowl, and wheel fairings are completed at the factory, and shipped out ready for final sanding and paint. The craft can easily be built in the space of a two car garage, and requires no special tools or knowledge to build. Jon Syverston of Midwest Sport Aviation distributor for the Cheetah XLS in the U.S. reports building times of between 150 to 250 hours. Jon who had never built an aircraft before, built his first Cheetah XLS in 250 hours. You can view his building log at http://www.mykitlog.com/mwsport , and an assembly manual in pdf format at The plastic fuel tank is located behind pilot the seat, and is easy to view and clearly marked with fuel quantity indicators from top to bottom. |
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