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thumb|Underside of an AA-1 Yankee, showing the square fuselage construction
thumb|right|1975 Grumman AA-1B Trainer taking off
thumb|right|American Aviation AA-1 Yankee instrument panel
thumb|A Grumman American AA-1B Trainer with an aftermarket dorsal [[strake (aviation)|strake modification]]
thumb|An American Aviation AA-1 Yankee side view
The Grumman American AA-1 series is a family of light, two-seat aircraft. The family includes the original American Aviation AA-1 Yankee and AA-1A Trainer along with the TR-2. The TR-2 has a cruise propeller and the trainer has a climb prop. Typically the TR-2 came with more navigation instruments and was better for cross country flying because of its speed and lower fuel consumption. The family also includes the Grumman American AA-1B Trainer and TR-2, plus the Gulfstream American AA-1C Lynx and T-Cat.
Development history
The Yankee was originally designed in 1962 by Jim Bede as the BD-1 and was intended to be sold as a kit-built aircraft. Bede decided to certify the design under the then-new FAR Part 23 rules and offer it as a completed aircraft. No BD-1 kits were ever sold.
The prototype first flew on July 11, 1963, and featured folding wings for trailering and ease of storage. Bede formed a company, Bede Aviation Corporation, based in Cleveland, Ohio, to produce the aircraft, but the BD-1 never entered production as a certified aircraft. At that time, the FAA was hesitant to certify a light aircraft with folding wings. The certification process was complex and expensive, and disagreements arose between Bede and the other shareholders. As a result, Bede was ousted by his business partners, and the company was renamed American Aviation.
Features
All models of the AA-1 accommodate two people in side-by-side seating under a sliding canopy and are noted for their exceptionally light handling. The Yankee and its four-seater siblings, the AA-5 series, feature a unique bonded aluminum honeycomb fuselage and bonded wings that eliminate the need for rivets without sacrificing strength. The wide-track main landing gear struts are laminated fiberglass for shock absorption, marketed as the "Face Saver" design by American Aviation.
The Yankee was originally designed to minimize the number of airframe parts used, with the aim of simplifying production and saving money. As a result of this philosophy, many parts were interchangeable. Due to the use of a non-tapered tubular spar, which doubled as the fuel tank, and the lack of wing washout, the wings could be exchanged left and right. The fin and horizontal stabilizers were interchangeable, as were the rudder and the elevators. The ailerons and flaps were similarly the same part. While it did succeed in making production easier, this design philosophy produced many aerodynamic compromises in the design. For instance, because the flaps were the same part as the ailerons they were too small to be effective as flaps. The lack of wing washout, necessitated by the wing interchangeability requirement, meant that stall strips had to be installed to produce acceptable stall characteristics for certification. Over time this philosophy of compromising the aerodynamics in favour of a minimized parts count was abandoned. For example, the redesign of the AA-1B into the AA-1C by Gulfstream involved wider-span elevators and horizontal stabilizers that produced better longitudinal stability, but were no longer interchangeable with the rudder and fin.
Variants
;AA-1 Yankee
:1968 – Production version developed from the Bede BD-1 with a 108hp Lycoming O-235-C2C engine, 461 built.
;AA-1A Trainer
:1971 – Dual-control trainer version with modified wing aerofoil, 470 built.
;AA-1B Trainer/TR-2
:1972 – Development of the AA-1A with an increase in useful load, also sold as the TR-2 touring model, 680 built.
;AA-1C T-Cat/Lynx
:1976 – AA-1B with a 115hp Lycoming O-235-L2C engine, AA-5 elevators and modified engine mount, marketed as the T-Cat as trainer replacement for the Trainer and as the Lynx tourer to replace the TR-2, 211 built.
Aircraft on display
thumb|AA-1 Yankee JA3613 outside the Museum of Aeronautical Science, Chiba
- AA-1 Yankee AA1-0001 – N501NA at the Virginia Air and Space Science Center, Hampton, Virginia, used by NASA for stall and spin tests. The museum states "... built in 1969. This aircraft... was the first Grumman-Yankee ever built."
- AA-1 Yankee AA1-0428 – JA3613 at the Museum of Aeronautical Science, Shibayama, Chiba prefecture, Japan.