The Aeronca Model 7 Champion, commonly known as the "Champ", or "Airknocker",Bellanca Aircraft Corp, " d: "The Champ only $4,995"" ''Flying Annual & Pilots' Guide,'' 1971 ed., pp.36–37 iff-Davis NY is a single-engine light

airplane An airplane or aeroplane (informally plane) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurations. The broad spe ...

with a

high wing A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...

, generally configured with fixed

conventional landing gear Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Term ...

and tandem seating for two occupants. Designed for flight training''Flying'' Dec. 1946, as quoted in ''Flying Annual & Pilots' Guide,' 1971 ed. iff-Davis NY' and personal use—and specifically developed to compete with the popular Piper Cub. It entered production in the United States in 1945, spawning one of the most popular, and longest-produced, light airplane models in the world." he Big 10" (planes in production longest) sidebar, ''Air & Space Smithsonian'' Feb. 1996, vol.10#6, p.48.Wilkinson, Stephan,
First Flight: The Champ
" ''

Flying Flying may refer to: * Flight, the process of flying * Aviation, the creation and operation of aircraft Music Albums * ''Flying'' (Grammatrain album), 1997 * ''Flying'' (Jonathan Fagerlund album), 2008 * ''Flying'' (UFO album), 1971 * ''Fl ...

,'' February 1971: iff-Davis NY, as retrieved 2016-01-30 from Google Books, and as reproduced in print edition of ''Flying Annual & Pilots' Guide, 1971 ed.,'' Ziff Davis, NY. In addition to the Champ's large-volume production by

Aeronca Aircraft Aeronca, contracted from Aeronautical Corporation of America, located in Middletown, Ohio, is a US manufacturer of engine components and airframe structures for commercial aviation and the defense industry, and a former aircraft manufacturer. F ...

, it was revived in variations by the

Champion Aircraft Champion Aircraft Corporation was formed in 1954 by Robert Brown. Headquartered in Osceola, Wisconsin airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a ...

Company in the 1950s and 1960s, and then again in further variants by

Bellanca AviaBellanca Aircraft Corporation was an American aircraft design and manufacturing company. Prior to 1983, it was known as the Bellanca Aircraft Company. The company was founded in 1927 by Giuseppe Mario Bellanca, although it was preceded by p ...

in the 1960s and 1970s, and by

American Champion Aircraft American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

in the early 2000s. To take advantage of the new

light-sport aircraft A light-sport aircraft (LSA), or light sport aircraft, is a fairly new category of small, lightweight aircraft that are simple to fly. LSAs tend to be heavier and more sophisticated than ultralight (aka "microlight") aircraft, but LSA restrictio ...

(LSA) category, the Champion was returned to production in 2007,Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011–12'', page 24. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485XTacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: ''World Directory of Light Aviation 2015–16'', page 28. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015. but was discontinued by mid-2019.

Design and development

The Aeronca 7 Champion line—developed in the mid-1940s as a post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

response to the popular Piper J-3 Cub—uses similar design features (already featured in Aeronca's wartime designs, the

Aeronca Model T Aeronca, contracted from Aeronautical Corporation of America, located in Middletown, Ohio, is a US manufacturer of engine components and airframe structures for commercial aviation and the defense industry, and a former aircraft manufacturer. F ...

, Aeronca Defender, and Aeronca L-3), but also incorporates aspects of traditional Aeronca designs, including the internal main trusswork of the fuselage frame. Like its predecessors and initial rivals, the high-wing, two-seat plane has tandem seating, conventional landing gear (tailwheel-equipped), and a small piston engine.Sargent, Sparky Barnes,
A Honey of a Champion! The Baker family's award-winning Aeronca
" ''Vintage Airplane,'' Dec., 2007, vol.35, #12, Experimental Aircraft Association As with many light aircraft of the time, the Champ's

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...

and tail surfaces are constructed of welded metal tubing. The outer shape of the fuselage is created by a combination of wooden

former A former is an object, such as a template, gauge or cutting die, which is used to form something such as a boat's hull. Typically, a former gives shape to a structure that may have complex curvature. A former may become an integral part of the ...

s and

longeron In engineering, a longeron and stringer is the load-bearing component of a framework. The term is commonly used in connection with aircraft fuselages and automobile chassis. Longerons are used in conjunction with stringers to form structural ...

s, covered with fabric. 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. The strut-braced wings of the Champ are, like the fuselage and tail surfaces, fabric-covered, and use aluminum ribs. Most Champs were built with wooden

spars The United States Coast Guard (USCG) Women's Reserve, also known as the SPARS (SPARS was the acronym for "Semper Paratus—Always Ready"), was the women's branch of the United States Coast Guard Reserve. It was established by the United States ...

. 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. Like the Piper Cub with which it competed, the Champ features tandem seating. However, while the J-3 model of the Cub is flown solo from the rear seat, the Champ can be soloed from the front, giving improved forward visibility, particularly on the ground and during takeoffs, landings, and climbs. The Champ offers far better visibility than the Cub, allowing 300 degrees of visibility to a front-seated pilot, and has a wider cabin than the Cub.Karant, Max,
Flying Check Pilot: The Aeronca Chief
," ''Flying Magazine,'' Dec., 1946. Additionally, an uncommon Champ variant—the 7HC—was produced with an enlarged rear seat allowing two passengers to be carried. The landing gear of most Champs is in a conventional arrangement, though two variants with

tricycle gear Tricycle gear is a type of aircraft undercarriage, or ''landing gear'', arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has a single nose wheel in the front, and two or more main wheels slightly aft of the center of gravity. Tricycle g ...

were produced, and a model with reversed tricycle gear was tried. Conventional-gear Champs feature a steerable tailwheel and most have steel tube main gear which use an oleo strut for shock absorption. One variant utilized sprung-steel main gear, and American Champion uses aluminum gear legs in its production model of the Champ. Tricycle-gear Champs use the steel tube and oleo strut main gear, mating these with an oleo strut nose gear. Models 7AC, 7CCM, 7DC, and 7EC were approved as

floatplane A floatplane is a type of seaplane with one or more slender floats mounted under the fuselage to provide buoyancy. By contrast, a flying boat uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land, ...

s, with the addition of floats and vertical stabilizer fins; the floatplane versions were designated the S7AC, S7CCM, S7DC, and S7EC, respectively. The 7GC and 7HC may also be operated with floats but are not given a special designation in this configuration. All floatplane versions have increased gross weights over the corresponding landplanes.

Operational history

Built by Aeronca Aircraft Corporation, the Champ first flew in 1944, and entered production in 1945. As an economical postwar rival to the Piper Cub (which it largely improved upon), the Champ was popular with training schools who were training veterans returning from World War II, by the thousands, with government funding through the

G.I. Bill The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the G.I. Bill, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in 1956, bu ...

.Smith, Frank Kingston,
The Turbulent Decade
" (history of U.S. aviation from the mid-1940s to the mid-1950s), ''Flying'' Magazine 50th Anniversary Edition, September 1977, pp.200–208; as photocopied at Google Books, retrieved Feb. 2016. The original model 7AC Champion initially sold by the thousands, peaking in 1946, as Aeronca developed the highest-volume production line in general aviation. Between 1946 and 1947, Aeronca was producing an average 30 light aircraft per day (peaking at 50 per day at one point). But 1946 was a momentary explosion in lightplane production, industry-wide. The postwar boom-and-bust of the late 1940s and early 1950s brought an abrupt end to the massive sales, and—like the rest of the U.S. lightplane industry—Aeronca production dropped to a small fraction of 1946–1947 sales. Engine upgrades in 1947, 1948 and 1949 resulted in the Models 7BCM, 7DC and the electric-system-equipped 7EC, all distinguished from the 7AC by a larger vertical tail than predecessors, to compensate for the greater

torque In physics and mechanics, torque is the rotational equivalent of linear force. It is also referred to as the moment of force (also abbreviated to moment). It represents the capability of a force to produce change in the rotational motion of th ...

and

p-factor P-factor, also known as asymmetric blade effect and asymmetric disc effect, is an aerodynamic phenomenon experienced by a moving propeller,) where the propeller's center of thrust moves off-center when the aircraft is at a high angle of attack. ...

of the larger engines. Some of these Champ variants were acquired by the

U.S. Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

(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 Aeronca Champ military variants were labeled L-16, L-16A and L-16B.Air Training Department, The Artillery School, U.S. Army,
The New Grasshopper—L-16
" (semi-official U.S. Army tutorial written to guide pilots transitioning from the Piper L-4 to the Aeronca L-16) ''The Field Artillery Journal'', Nov–Dec 1947, United States Army, By the time production ended in 1951, the company had sold more than 8,000 Champions, mostly 7AC Champs (approx. 7,200). Aeronca ceased all production of light aircraft in 1951, and the Champ design was sold in 1954 to

, who continued production of some of the more advanced variants of the Champ, from the 1950s into the early 1960s—gradually modifying them into the

aerobatic Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aerial" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and glid ...

Champion

Citabria The Citabria is a light single-engine, two-seat, fixed conventional gear airplane which entered production in the United States in 1964. Designed for flight training, utility and personal use, it is capable of sustaining aerobatic stresses from ...

. Champion Aircraft was acquired in 1970 by Bellanca Aircraft which continued production of their Champ-derived

and

Decathlon The decathlon is a combined event in Athletics (sport), athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek language, Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ...

designs. 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.,"1971 Aircraft Directory," ''Flying Annual & Pilots' Guide,'' 1971 ed., special section iff-Davis NY Only a handful of 7ACAs were built between 1971 and 1972. Bellanca ceased all production in the early 1980s. JabiruChamp

American Champion Aircraft Corporation acquired the Champ and related designs in 1989. In 2001, they were rumored to be considering a reintroduction of the Champ design as a 7EC powered by a Jabiru Aircraft engine. While a test version was flown, this combination was not put into production. With the creation of the

(LSA) category of aircraft in the United States by the

FAA The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...

, American Champion in late 2007 began producing a revised version of the 7EC powered by the

Continental O-200-A The Continental C90 and O-200 are a family of air-cooled, horizontally opposed, four-cylinder, direct-drive aircraft engines of 201 in³ (3.29 L) displacement, producing between 90 and 100 horsepower (67 and 75 kW).''Federal Aviation Admini ...

. The new production aircraft are type certified, but also qualify to be flown by sport pilots in the United States. 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

. Fuel capacity was reduced to to conserve weight; despite this measure and various others, such as the use of aluminum landing gear legs and bare

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 ...

floorboards rather than carpet, the aircraft's payload is inadequate to carry two adults and full fuel simultaneously. The manufacturer was considering various further weight-reduction measures including the use of the lightened Continental O-200D engine previously offered in the Cessna 162 Skycatcher. However, the revived 7EC was dropped from production by mid-2019. Standard-production 7AC, 7BCM (L-16A), 7CCM (L-16B), 7DC, and 7ACA models qualify as U.S. Light Sport Aircraft. Only those specific original-production 7EC airplanes certificated at a gross weight qualify for the LSA category; a standard original-production 7EC is certificated at a gross weight of and does not qualify.

Variants

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. The derivative

designs — models 7ECA, 7GCAA, 7GCBC, and 7KCAB — are discussed in a separate article, as is the twin-engined 402 Lancer. Floatplane variants are designated by an "S" prefix and are discussed together with the standard respective land variant.

7AC Champion

Introduced in 1945, the 7AC Champion ("Champ") was the first (and, by far, the most popular) version of the design. It used the Continental A-65-8 engine of . Aircraft Specification A-759 2011, p. 1. (Other 65-hp engines by Lycoming and Franklin were also fitted.) A supplemental type certificate allows the installation of a Lycoming O-235. The Champ featured a conventional landing gear configuration, with shock absorption in the main gear provided by oleo struts. The aircraft had no electrical system. It is distinguishable from nearly all other variants by the absence of a dorsal fin at the leading edge of the vertical tail (most later models had the enlarged tail). Approximately 7,200 were built between 1945 and 1948—far outnumbering all other subsequent variants combined, and far outnumbering most rival designs of the period. Some were acquired by the U.S. military and designated L-16—not to be confused with the L-16A and L-16B derived from later Champ variants. Gross weight is for the standard 7AC and when configured as an S7AC floatplane; fuel capacity for either version is in a single tank.

7ACA

1971 reintroduction by Bellanca, a modernized version of the design which made it a variant of the Citabria line. The 7ACA is powered by the two-cylinder Franklin 2A engine of ; Gross weight is .Aircraft Specification A-759 2011, p. 16. 71 were produced.

7BCM, L-16A

Upgraded version introduced in 1947 with an Continental C85 and "no-bounce" version of the main landing gear. All of the 7BCM production went to the military as model L-16A. Gross weight and fuel capacity are unchanged from the 7AC.Aircraft Specification A-759 2011, p. 2. 509 were built. Aeronca L-16 7BCM 140719a

7B-X

Prototype, 1 produced, serial number ''7-BX-1'', FAA aircraft registration number was ''N4084E'' but registration was canceled on 4 October 1951, no other details known.

7CCM, L-16B

An improved version of the L-16, the L-16B/7CCM featured a Continental C90-8 engine, an enlarged vertical tail, hydraulic brakes, and a gross weight increase to ; an additional gross weight increase to is allowed when "Long Stroke Oleo Landing Gear" is installed and placard, "Intentional spinning prohibited when baggage carried", is installed on the instrument panel. An additional fuel tank is used, increasing total fuel capacity to .Aircraft Specification A-759 2011, p. 3. Gross weight increases to when configured as an S7CCM floatplane.Aircraft Specification A-759 2011, p. 5. 100 L-16B/7CCM aircraft were built. Aeronca 7DC (N42344)

7DC

Similar to 7CCM but with Continental C85 engine of ; the derived S7DC floatplane had a gross weight increase to . 100 7DC aircraft were produced.

7EC Traveler

1950 brought the introduction of the Aeronca 7EC, which features a

Continental C90-12F The Continental C90 and O-200 are a family of air-cooled, horizontally opposed, four-cylinder, direct-drive aircraft engines of 201 in³ (3.29 L) displacement, producing between 90 and 100 horsepower (67 and 75 kW).''Federal Aviation Admini ...

engine of , standard long-throw oleo strut main gear, thicker seat cushions, additional interior insulation for noise reduction, an improved heater and electrical system, the addition of a parking brake, and a change in

center of gravity In physics, the center of mass of a distribution of mass in space (sometimes referred to as the balance point) is the unique point where the weight function, weighted relative position (vector), position of the distributed mass sums to zero. Thi ...

for enhanced speed. Advertised empty weight is . Standard gross weight is , or with "Lower End Landing Gear Oleo Strut Assembly." Standard fuel capacity is unchanged from the 7DC; an optional system was offered, increasing the manufacturer's empty weight by . The optional S7EC floatplane configuration has a gross weight of . The last Champ produced at Aeronca was a 7EC, and when Champion reintroduced the Champ in 1955, it was with their version of the 7EC, very little changed from Aeronca's. An enhanced version called the Champion DeLuxe Traveler offered a metal propeller with spinner, wheel pants, a steerable tailwheel, and navigation lights. 773 7EC aircraft were produced during the original production run. In late 2007, American Champion introduced a revised version of the 7EC, featuring the

engine of . Differing in a number of ways from earlier 7ECs, this new version in particular replaced the wood-spar wings of the earlier versions with a metal-spar wing and used aluminum gear legs. To fit within the Light Sport requirements, the maximum weight was reduced to 1,320 pounds (599 kilograms). The aircraft was discontinued by mid-2019.

7FC Tri-Traveler

In 1957, Champion brought out the 7FC, which is similar to the 7EC but with tricycle landing gear instead of conventional (tailwheel) gear, oleo struts on all 3 wheels, and extra frame bracing for the nosewheel. Factory standard equipment was comparable to the 7EC DeLuxe Traveler. The 7FC is slower and heavier than an equivalent 7EC, with a standard useful load of , compared with for the 7EC; both use the Continental C90-12F engine. Standard gross weight of the 7FC is with an increase to allowed with the installation of "Wide Track Main Gear."Aircraft Specification A-759 2011, pp. 6–7. Aeronca7FC

472 7FC aircraft were built.

7GC Sky Trac

Generally similar to 7EC but with a Lycoming O-290-D2B engine and modified fuselage structure for increased gross weight.Aircraft Specification A-759 2011, p. 7. Gross weight is in standard configuration, in seaplane configuration. 171 were produced.

7GCA Sky Trac

Agricultural variant of the 7GC with identical gross weight but with a

Lycoming O-320-A2B The Lycoming O-320 is a large family of naturally aspirated, air-cooled, four-cylinder, direct-drive engines produced by Lycoming Engines. They are commonly used on light aircraft such as the Cessna 172 and Piper Cherokee. Different variants ...

engine.Aircraft Specification A-759 2011, p. 8. 396 were made.

7HC DX'er

Similar to 7GC with identical gross weights for landplane and floatplane versions, but with a front seat control yoke instead of a control stick, modified fuselage structure, tricycle landing gear, and an enlarged rear seat for two occupants. 39 were produced.

7JC Tri-Con

Similar to 7EC but with reverse tricycle undercarriage; however, the aircraft may be converted to a standard tailwheel undercarriage and operated at a gross weight. 25 were built.

7KC Olympia

7GCA with smaller wings, redesigned

empennage The empennage ( or ), also known as the tail or tail assembly, is a structure at the rear of an aircraft that provides stability during flight, in a way similar to the feathers on an arrow.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third ed ...

, other aerodynamic refinements, deletion of rear-seat flight controls, and minor detail changes.Aircraft Specification A-759 2011, p. 10. 4 were built.

Specifications (7AC)

Notes

References

* * * * * * Taylor, J. H. (ed) (1989) ''Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation''. Studio Editions: London. p. 28
airliners.net

External links

* {{American Champion

Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, an ...

Light-sport aircraft 1940s United States civil utility aircraft Aeronca aircraft Champion aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft High-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1944