(Aeronca) 7 Champion @·AIRCRAFTUBE

  • Aeronca 7AC Champion Aeronca 7AC Champion
    Aeronca 7AC Champion
  • Aeronca 7AC Champion Aeronca 7AC Champion
    Aeronca 7AC Champion
  • Aeronca 7BCM Champion - 1946 Aeronca 7BCM Champion - 1946
    Aeronca 7BCM Champion - 1946
  • Aeronca 7AC Champion Aeronca 7AC Champion
    Aeronca 7AC Champion
  • Aeronca 7AC Champion Aeronca 7AC Champion
    Aeronca 7AC Champion
  • Aeronca 7AC Champion Aeronca 7AC Champion
    Aeronca 7AC Champion
  • Aeronca 7AC Champion Aeronca 7AC Champion
    Aeronca 7AC Champion
  • Aeronca 7-FC Champion Tri-Traveler Aeronca 7-FC Champion Tri-Traveler
    Aeronca 7-FC Champion Tri-Traveler
  • Aeronca 7AC Champion Aeronca 7AC Champion
    Aeronca 7AC Champion
  • Aeronca 7DC Champion Aeronca 7DC Champion
    Aeronca 7DC Champion

Aeronca 7 Champion

The Aeronca 7 is a tandem two seater initial instruction airplane that used the wings, landing gear, tail and the 65 hp Continental engine of the Aeronca 65 Chief, associated to a new fuselage designed by Ray Hermes. This solution kept design and building costs to a minimum and the aircraft made its first flight on April 29, 1944 piloted by Lou Wehrung. Certified on October 18, 1945, it was initially sold for $2.095. New engines appeared in 1948 and 1949 and a daily production of 50 machines was reached by Aeronca by 1950.

More than 10,000 Champions had been sold when production stopped in 1951. Affectionately nicknamed the "Airknocker", the Aeronca 7 was, after the Piper Cub, the most popular of all US light instruction airplanes.

To take advantage of the new light-sport aircraft category, the Champion was returned to production in 2007.

Design and development

Like the Piper Cub with which it competed, the Champ features tandem seating. While the J-3 model of the Cub is soloed from the rear seat, the Champ can be soloed from the front, giving improved forward visibility on the ground and during takeoffs, landings, and climbs. The Champ has a wider cabin than the Cub and offers better visibility.

As with many light aircraft of the time, the Champ’s fuselage and tail surfaces are constructed of welded metal tubing. The outer shape of the fuselage is created by a combination of wooden formers and longerons, 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, utilizing aluminum ribs. Most Champs were built with wooden spars. American Champion has been using aluminum spars in the aircraft it has produced and has, as well, made the aluminum-spar wings available for retrofit installation on older aircraft.

The landing gear of most Champs is in a conventional arrangement, though a model with tricycle gear was 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 spring steel main gear, and American Champion is using aluminum gear legs in its production model of the Champ. The 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 seaplanes, with the addition of floats and vertical stabilizer fins; the seaplane versions were designated the S7AC, S7CCM, S7DC, and S7EC, respectively. Float and supplemental fin installations are also approved for models 7ECA, 7GC, 7GCB, 7GCBC, and properly modified 7HC's.

Production history

Built by Aeronca Aircraft Corporation, the Champ first flew in 1944, having been designed in tandem with the 11AC Chief—the Champ with tandem seating and joystick controls, and the Chief with side-by-side seating and yoke controls. The intention was to simplify production and control costs by building a pair of aircraft with a significant number of parts in common; in fact, the two designs share between 70% and 80% of their parts. The tail surfaces, wings, landing gear, and firewall forward—engine, most accessories, and cowling, are common to both airplanes.

Selling for $2,095, the Champ outsold the Chief by an 8 to 1 margin. Engine upgrades in 1948 and 1949 resulted in the Models 7DC and 7EC. Between 1945 and 1950, Aeronca was producing 50 light aircraft per day and by the time production ended in 1951, the company had sold more than 7,000 Champions.

Aeronca ceased all production of light aircraft in 1951, and the Champ design was sold in 1954 to Champion Aircraft.

Champion Aircraft was acquired in 1970 by Bellanca Aircraft which continued production of their Champ-derived Citabria and Decathlon designs. In 1971, Bellanca introduced the 7ACA version of the Champ as a more basic complement to their other designs. Only a handful of 7ACA's were built between 1971 and 1972. Bellanca ceased all production in the early 1980s.

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

Versions

Aeronca 7AC : First version, equipped with a 65 hp Continental C-65-8 engine. 7.200 exemplars built. Known as the Aeronca 7ACS or S7AC when equipped with floats.

Aeronca 7BCM : 85 hp Continental C85-12 engine and No-bounce gear, reinforced fuselage and small other modifications. 509 machines built for the USAAF (Continental O-190-1 engine) under designation L-16A. Originally, 376 planes where planned for modernisation of the National Guard equipment, but this aircraft was used a lot during the Korean war by the US Army. 332 L-16A and B were transferred in 1956 to the Civil Air Patrol.

Aeronca 7CCM : Civilian version with a Continental C-90-8F engine, dorsal spin and increased fuel capacity that appeared in 1948. 125 machines built for the civilian market plus 100 L-16B delivered to the USAF (Continental O-205-1 engine).

Aeronca 7DC : New civilian version, proposed in 1948 with a Continental C85-8F engine and enlarged vertical surface. The hydro version was the Aeronca 7DCS (or S7DC). 168 exemplars built, sold between 2510 and 2665 U$.

Aeronca 7DCM Farm Wagon : Light multi purpose aircraft with the rear part of the fuselage designed as a cargo hold with a wooden made cabin lining.

Aeronca 7EC : Appeared in 1949 with a 90 hp Continental C-90-12F, hydro-version 7ECS or S7EC. This is the first Aeronca airplane equipped with a starter and electrical generator. 96 exemplars built.

Champion 7EC Traveler : In 1951 Aeronca sold production rights to Champion Aircraft Corporation. Champion Aircraft choosed not to start production of the 7EC, but instead to develop the 7EC Traveler. The unique prototype flew for the first time in 1955 powered by a Continental C90-12F engine.

Champion 7GCB Challenger : Evolution of the preceding, increased wingspan and trailing edge flaps. This machine served as the basis for development of the Citabria, Decathlon and Scout models.

Aeronca 7FC : Tricycle gear version equipped with a Continental C-90-12F engine of which only one exemplar was built in 1949.

Champion 7FC Tri-Traveler : Series version of the preceeding that led to the design of the Champion 402 Lancer.

Bellanca 7ACA Champion : In Septembre 1970, Champion Aircraft Company was bought by Bellanca that restarted production of the 7AC with the following modifications: Replacement of the Continental engine, that was not built anymore, by a 60 hp Franklin 2A-120B, new landing gear and modernised interior.

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This text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
Source : Article Aeronca Champion of Wikipedia ( authors )

Specifications (Aeronca 7AC Champion)

  • Crew: 1.
  • Passengers: 1.
  • Wing span: 35 ft 1 in (10.69 m).
  • Length: 21 ft 11 in (6.68 m).
  • Height: 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m).
  • Wing area: 200 sq ft (18.58 m²).
  • Dry Operating weight: 717 lb (325 kg).
  • Cruising Speed: 81 mph (70 kts - 130 km/h).
  • Max Speed: 121 mph (105 kts - 195 km/h).
  • Service ceiling: 13,451 ft (4,100 m).
  • Max range: 460 mi (400 nm - 740 km).
  • Engine: Continental C-65-8.
  • Power: 64 hp (48 kW).

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This text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
Source : Article Aeronca Champion of Wikipedia ( authors )
Aeronca 7 Champion : Your comments on this subject
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