Acro Sport Nesmith Cougar

The Nesmith Cougar was developed by Robert Nesmith in the mid-1950s. During that time, he considered to enhance the Wittmand Tailwind by Steve Wittland, but it turned out that the two aircraft have the same design and are very difficult to distinguish from each other.

The first Cougar was initially marketed by Nesmith as low-cost aircraft intended for homebuilders. In 1963, the Cougar was modified by Leonard Eaves and won a competition in the Experimental Aircraft ASSOCIATION (EAA). The organization then purchased rights on the aircraft, and in due course was acquired by Acro Sport.

The Cougar featured a conventional wooden high wing with struts and has a wingspan of 6.25 meters and a wing area of 7.66 square meters. The fixed tailwheel type undercarriage has a wheelbase of 4.6 meters. The aircraft has an external length of 5.77 meters, an eternal height of 1.47 meters, a tail height of 1.68 meters, and a fuselage diameter of 0.6 meters. The tail assembly as well as the fuselage is built of steel-tube construction. The entire aircraft was covered with fabric and was equipped with a tandem configuration for a pilot and a passenger.

The Nesmith M1 Cougar is the initial design powered by 108 horsepower Lycoming engine intended for home building. The Cougar Comet is a modified version with a single Lycoming O-290D engine rated at 125 horsepower. The Chigger and Landoll’s Skydoll had was built with two designs. The first was fitted with folding wings and Culver Cadet undercarriage, known as the Chigger while the second was fitted with folding wings that featured automatic control latching.

The typical Cougar has a maximum speed of 169 knots, an economic cruise speed of 135 knots, and a stall speed of 46 knots. The travel range is 650 nautical miles. It could fly up to 13,000 feet and could climb at a rate of 1,300 feet per minute. The takeoff distance is 340 meters and the landing distance is 300 meters.