The Cougar was a twin-engine development of the Gulfstream American AA-5B Tiger and traces its lineage to the AA-1 Yankee Clipper and the Bede BD-1. As a development of the company's single-engined designs, Grumman American developed a twin-engined version, designated the GA-7 which it named the Cougar, in keeping with the existing Lynx, Cheetah and Tiger names for aircraft in the company's line. The prototype Cougar with two 160 hp (119 kW) Lycoming O-320 engines first flew on the 29 December 1974. Before production started the company was taken over on 1 September 1978 by American Jet Industries, who changed the company name to Gulfstream American. Production of the Cougar ran for only two model years, 1978 and 1979, before production was halted. Just 115 Cougars were delivered. The Cougar is a twin-engined low-wing cantilever monoplane using a honeycomb and bonded metal construction that is the hallmark of the line since the BD-1. The prototype's single spar wing was upgraded to a double-spar configuration and this allowed a wet wing. The Cougar is powered by a pair of wing-mounted Lycoming O-320-D1D engines of 160 hp (119 kW). It carries four people at maximum cruise speed of 160 kn (296 km/h) and a typical cruise speed of 140 kn (259 km/h). It was certified under US FAR Part 23 on 22 September 1977.
