SkyReach BushCat
These figures describe a typical build. Each aircraft of this design was built by its owner, and the one you are looking at may differ.
The SkyReach BushCat is a South African two-seat high-wing light-sport aircraft developed from the Rainbow Cheetah: a bolted aluminium-tube airframe under pre-sewn Dacron covering with a 31 ft 6 in wing and a Rotax 912ULS, 705 lb empty and 1,235 lb gross, with published figures of a 34-knot stall and 1,200 fpm (the maker publishes no 75 %-power cruise or range figure).
The BushCat is a simple, slow, cheap-to-run aeroplane for short strips and local flying, sold in the United States mainly as a factory-assembled light-sport aircraft and a few kits, and its construction is the thing to understand: the Dacron envelope and aluminium tubing are quick to inspect and inexpensive to replace but have finite lives in sun and weather, so hangarage and the covering's age matter more than hours. It is not a tourer (the maker publishes no 75 %-power cruise figure); its 530 lb useful load is fair for the class. An S-LSA is maintained to SkyReach's manual by an A&P or LSA repairman and a kit-built example by its owner with an A&P or repairman condition inspection; the US importer in Florida handles parts from South Africa.
Variants of the SkyReach BushCat
- BushCat · 58 active · this page
Also consider
TAILFAX SCORE
Partial: 15.2 out of 30 (safety not scored, too few records)
Among 1–2 seat pistons (321 models)
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Put SkyReach BushCat side by side with up to three other models.
- SkyReach BushCat
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What it is
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | — |
| Engine | Rotax 912ULS (100 hp) |
| Horsepower | 100 hp |
| Fuel | — |
| Certification basis | amateur-built |
| Production start | — |
| Production end | — |
| Endorsements required | — |
Performance
| Cruise (75 % power) | — |
|---|---|
| Range (75 %, standard fuel, 30-min reserve) | — |
| Service ceiling | 14,000 ft |
| Climb rate | 1,200 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 34 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 530 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | — |
| Max takeoff weight | 1,235 lb |
| Empty weight | 705 lb |
| Usable fuel | — |
| Fuel burn at cruise | — |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | — |
|---|---|
| Price, high | — |
| Prices as of | — |
| Engine TBO | — |
| Overhaul cost, low | — |
| Overhaul cost, high | — |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 64 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 58 |
| Median year built | 2021 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 3 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 51.72 · thin base (low)1 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 34.48 · thin base (low)2 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 28 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 48.28 · thin base (low)3 |
| Airworthiness directives | 0 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | low |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 58 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 58 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 58 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | 1.5 of 103 |
| Support | 4 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 9.7 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | Partial: 15.2 out of 30 (safety not scored, too few records)6 |
- Accident record: class median 36.69 · 321 models in class.
- Severity: class median 13.04.
- Access: class median 1,000.
- Support: class median 77.5.
- Liquidity: class median 20.
- Each of the five categories places the model within its peer class, from 0 (the worst of the class) to 10 (the best): a position among comparable models, not a grade. The overall score is the sum of the categories shown that are scored, out of 10 for each (50 when all five are); it is given only when at least 4 of the five are scored, and it can be set against another model's only when both are in the same peer class and scored on the same categories. When accident record and severity cannot be scored because the model has too few records, the other three give a partial score out of 30, labelled as such; it is never set against a full score.
Data as of: FAA registry Sep 28 · NTSB Oct 2 · ADs Oct 8 · scores Sep 30