Hobbies And Interests
Dimensions
Each AA-5 Traveler stretched 22 feet in length and had an overall height of 7.9 feet. These aircraft had a wing span of 31.5 feet with a total wing area of 140 square feet. When empty, the Traveler weighed 1,271 pounds. It could carry 707 pounds, and fuel and a full load brought its gross weight to 2,200 pounds. Grumman installed a 37-gallon fuel tank in each Traveler. This plane's propeller had a diameter of 73 inches.
Engine
Each Traveler drew power from a single-piston Lycoming O320-E2G engine. This power plant produced 150 horsepower at 2,700 rpm. It had a TBO, or operational life of 2,000 hours.
Take-off and Landing
Under normal conditions, a Traveler required 880 feet of runway to take off. If a pilot needed to clear a 50-foot obstacle during take off, the Traveler needed 1,600 feet of runway. A pilot could land a Traveler on a runway as short as 380 feet; however, if the landing required coming in over a 50-foot obstacle, the Traveler required 1,100 feet of runway.
Flight
Once airborne, the Traveler climbed at a rate of 660 feet per minute. It reached its service ceiling at 12,650 feet and had a cruising altitude of 9,000 feet. The Traveler could hit a maximum speed of 130 knots and cruised at 122 knots. This plane stalled at speeds of 50 knots or less. On a full tank, the Traveler flew up to 503 nautical miles; at its cruising range of 430 nautical miles, 45 minutes worth of fuel remained in the tank.
Tiger Variant
Grumman updated the Traveler to the Tiger configuration in 1975. A Tiger shared the same overall dimensions as the Traveler, but it drew power from a 180-horsepower Lycoming O360-A4K single-piston engine. The increased power gave it a maximum speed of 148 knots, an 850 feet per minute rate of climb and a service ceiling of 13,800 feet. It featured a 51-gallon fuel tank that improved its cruising range to 554 nautical miles.