Empty weight (lbs. All the classics of this vintage are loud. Classifieds. [3][4][25], By the time production ended in 1951, the company had sold more than 8,000 Champions, mostly 7AC Champs (approx. The main wheels show an arm of +/-0 which must mean they are even with the wing leading edge. Gross weight is 1220 pounds, for a typical useful load of 480 pounds. Hardly a nostalgic day. . [35] An additional 5.5USgal (21l; 4.6impgal) fuel tank is used, increasing total fuel capacity to 18.5USgal (70l; 15.4impgal). (It does, however, have a wooden propeller.). An enhanced version called the Champion DeLuxe Traveler offered a metal propeller with spinner, wheel pants, a steerable tailwheel, and navigation lights. Expect empty weights around 740 pounds-about as much as a big motorcycle. Aircraft Specification A-759 2011, pp. Based on the 7CCM with an increased gross weight, 773 built. The model number and the engine are the same, but that is where the similarity stops. The outer shape of the fuselage is created by a combination of wooden formers and longerons, covered with fabric. Horsepower: 90 Gross Weight: 1450 lbs Top Speed: 117 kts Empty Weight: 820 lbs Cruise Speed: 97 kts Fuel Capacity: 26 gal Stall Speed (dirty): 38 kts Range: 350 nm Takeoff: Landing: Ground Roll: 840 ft Ground Roll 400 ft: Over 50 ft obstacle: 1240 ft Over 50 ft obstacle: 700 ft Rate Of Climb: 700 fpm Ceiling: 15500 ft Designed with a freighter aircraft in mind to make your aircraft loading more efficient, cut costs and make maximum use of available space. [1][2][3][4][24], Some of these Champ variants were acquired by the U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF) and its successor, the U.S. Air Force (USAF), particularly for use by the U.S. Army Ground Forces and the National Guard, as replacements for the Piper L-4 variant of the Piper Cub, used as an observation and liaison aircraft. The most significant difference in the 7FC was its tricycle landing gear arrangement. The popular 7AC Champion was introduced in 1945 and when production of the model 7AC Champion stopped in 1948, 7200 copies had rolled off the line. The Champ is our fly for fun airplane and it doesnt get any cheaper. Gross weight (lbs. Most Champs were built with wooden spars. Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association Find it free on the store. Installation Weight: 23.5 lbs. The main gear and the nose gear utilized oleo struts, 472 built. The final bill after the airplane was repaired, covered with new fabric, and painted came to $13,000. The desktop version of our aircraft weight and balance software is a full-feature app that does not require Internet access to perform weight and balance calculations. Useful load on ours is 440 pounds. With the creation of the Light Sport category of aircraft in the United States by the FAA, American Champion in late 2007 began producing a revised version of the 7EC powered by the 100 hp (75 kW) Continental O-200-A. . But the extra fuel comes in handy when youre going somewhere by yourself and wont have fuel available when you get there. The only big expense weve had in the eight years was a top end on all four cylinders last summer for $600. The oleo-strut main gear are replaced by steel legs like those used on the later Citabria models, and the rear side windows are squared-off versions, again matching the Citabrias. Also, a wingtip was out of specification and had to be reworked. Takeoff is straightforward and Champs low wing loading makes dealing with short fields childs play. Mechanics who are well-versed with the intricacies of maintaining old ragwing airplanes can be hard to find. The Lycoming O-145 found in some chiefs is maybe only 50 hp or a bit more, since it has 145 cubes instead of the A-65's 170, and tries to get its hp by turning faster. [1][3][5][11][16] Plane and Pilot expands upon the vast base of knowledge and experience from aviations most reputable influencers to inspire, educate, entertain and inform. Aeronca 7AC Champion: Owner/operator: Private: Registration: N1472E: MSN: 7AC-5035: Fatalities: Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2: Other fatalities: 0: Aircraft damage: Substantial: Category: . Jim Leavitt of Sanford, Florida, found quite a deal when he went shopping for a Champ in 1999: a Champ in apparently good condition with only 50 hours on an overhauled engine for $12,500. One point often missed is that if an S-LSA manufacturer goes belly up, the owners have little choice but to convert their aircraft to experimental status. See Section "Weight and Balance Changes" for changes in C.G. Ladies and gentlemen, now entering the ring, wearing any of 20 colors, weighing 1,320 pounds, from Rochester, Wisconsinthe Champ! [43][44] Gross weight is 1,650lb (750kg) in standard configuration, 1,732lb (786kg) in seaplane configuration. Even though there isnt much to go wrong on a Champ, working on a 1940s vintage taildragger is not like repairing even a 1970s Cessna 172. As you would predict, these old Model A gauges can break; replacements are available though Brattons Antique Auto Parts rebuilders catalogue. Engine: 85 hp Continental. There are a few bits and pieces that may be hard to find, including windshields, retaining clips for the disc brakes, cranks for the Continental engine and parts for the oddball-but magnificent-Eisemann magnetos. It was also produced with luxury details as the Champion Deluxe. Home. In 2001, they were rumored to be considering a reintroduction of the Champ design as a 7EC powered by a Jabiru Aircraft engine. Hanlon-Wilson mufflers reduce noise somewhat. The going rate for an average-condition Champ today is nearly double what the airplane was going for in 1992. We hangar ours (required for any fabric airplane that you care about) and our fixed expenses are $984/year for the hangar, about $360 for insurance and $140 for an annual. Piper J-4 thru PA-22 and PA-25. The good news is that it is just as much fun to fly as the old Champs. Aircraft Specification A-759 2011, p. 16. Some Champs have been fitted with a venturi to drive a turn-and-bank indicator, but dont even try weather flying in a Champ. The cross-section of the metal fuselage truss is triangular, a design feature which can be traced all the way back to the earliest Aeronca C-2 design of the late 1920s. Piper Cub weight & balance calculation If you should take your check flight in a Piper Cub, you may get thrown a curve IF the check pilot asks for a weight & balance calculation. The tail, nose cowling, and fuselage sides are like the original Champ series, but the windows, interior, door, and windscreen are those of a modern Citabria that first appeared on the scene in 1964. I have been using an iPhone application called "CG Finder". These are rare birds with only 184 DCs and 124 CCMs produced. Alton K. Marsh, AOPA Pilot, Sept. 2007. The airline transport pilot and the passenger sustained fatal injuries. There are two kinds of brakes-Goodyear mechanical drums and Goodyear discs, both operated with heel levers. "I never go above 1,000 feet and fly outside of airspace where radios are needed. In 1971 Bellanca introduced the 7ACA, a modernized version of the design which made it a variant of the Citabria line. THANKS TO BARNSTORMERS 1946 Aeronca Champ 7AC. [29], Various versions of the Champ have been tested and produced since 1944, including military, aerobatic, cropduster, tricycle-gear and (as the 402 Lancer) a twin-engined variant.[2][4][5]. Hi all, In addition to a new weight and balance, what needs to be done if you have an Aeronca Champ that was built without an electrical system and you'd. Menu. [12][13] The aircraft was discontinued by mid-2019. Models 7AC, 7CCM, 7DC, and 7EC were approved as seaplanes, with the addition of floats and vertical stabilizer fins; the seaplane versions were designated the S7AC, S7CCM, S7DC, and S7EC, respectively. Fuel capacity 14 U.S. gallons (53 liters). A C-85-8 is likewise hampered. Ive have owned a 1946 Champ 7AC in partnership with two other people for about eight years and have accumulated about 450 hours in it. [22], Built by Aeronca Aircraft Corporation, the Champ first flew in 1944, and entered production in 1945. 199 built. A 65 doesn't have any provision for driving an alternator. [12][13] Although the fuselage and cowling contours are similar to the original-production models, the new aircraft used the windows, interior, door, and windscreen of the modern Citabria. Furthermore, the solution also produces required legal documents and is critical to the safety of operating an aircraft, all while integrating seamlessly into your existing systems. In 1971, Bellanca introduced the 7ACA version of the Champ as a more basic complement to their other designs, as the least expensive, and lowest-performance, commercially produced light plane on the market at the time. The good news is that if you plan your flying so you dont use the brakes except for run-up, you wont put much wear on them and theyll last a long time (we have yet to replace ours in 1100 hours but we have lost several clips). You can even buy a new one-more on that later. But this is a tailwheel airplane and having good breaks can be a setup for trouble as most wizened dragger pilots will warn. S/N's 7FC-347 thru 7FC-405 eligible for 1500 lb. The 7ACA is powered by the two-cylinder Franklin 2A engine of 60 horsepower (45kW); Gross weight is 1,220lb (550kg). The American Champion 7EC Champ certified under the old CAR 4 rules is re-entering the market as a light sport aircraft, and thus has a 1,320-pound gross weight limitation. American Champion has been using aluminum spars in the aircraft it has produced, and has also made the aluminum-spar wings available for retrofit installation on older aircraft. The drum brakes are cheaper to get parts for, but there is a mandatory AD requiring inspection of the drum/hub for cracks every 50 hours. Aeronca is gone as an airplane company, but parts are available from a variety of sources, including the ubiquitous Univair, Wag Aero (who bought the previous Safe Air Repair, including PMA-approved wooden wing spars), Superior Air Parts and the Citabria people at American Champion Aircraft. Empty Weight: 820 LBS. Strap into a Champ and youre sitting in one of the most basic set of wings around. . None of the planes had self-starters or radios. Between 1946 and 1947, Aeronca was producing an average 30 light aircraft per day (peaking at 50 per day at one point). For years, airplanes like this were a ticket to cheap ownership. The basic airplane has a starting price of $102,900. No gas tank above your knees, a Citabria metal-spar wing stressed to 5 Gs, aluminum spring gear, a Continental O-200 with an alternator and a starter, and an electrical system for things like radios, lights and transponders. A 13-gallon fuel tank mounted just forward of the instrument panel feeds a diminutive 65-HP Continental engine. Reaching the carb heat knob from the front seat can be awkward and easily overlooked since its out of sight. Selling for $2,095, the Champ outsold the Chief by an 8 to 1 margin. Aircraft Specification A-759 2011, pp. [6] Conventional-gear Champs feature a steerable tailwheel and most have steel tube main gear which use an oleo strut for shock absorption. estaff-Published: January 7, 2003 Updated: October 29, 2019. While a test version was flown, this combination was not put into production.

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