Champ

Aeronca 7A Champion - A great little bushplane

There are a couple versions of the Aeronca Champion. The 7AC comes with a 65 horsepower motor. The more powerful 7DC has an 85 horsepower Continental motor. It's a great bushplane

Speed is not the Champ's strong suit. The VNE is 135 mph. Cruise is 80 mph. It won't stall until 40 mph, though, which is why it can make a handy little bush plane. Like many GA planes of it's era it is a tealwheel aircraft and lacks flaps.

The Champ is not technically an aerobatic airplane. Still, they are capable of looping and rolling in some circumstances. The Champ was the platform that the Super Decathalon and Citabria were based on. They use the same truss and look very similar. This is why the Champ can reputedly do so many things. The problem is age - 60 year old wood spars may not be in top notch condition when it comes to acrobatics.

It is reported that the Champion has a lot of adverse yaw. This is not uncommon among acrobatic aircraft. Coordinated turns can be a challenge, but the rudder is very responsive. Authoritatve controls make up for the lack of flaps. Pilots slip the plane instead of using flaps - after all, both things increase drag.

The Champ is a good back country aircraft due to it's STOL characteristics. A three point landing results in a very short ground rolls. If you're at an airport you can get off the runway quickly with a wheeler landing. It has Oleo landing gear which makes it pretty durable and forgiving.

Low cruise speeds and small engines mean a low fuel burn rate. The Champ uses about 4 gallons per hour. It's at home on wheels, floats or skis.

Empty weight on wheels is about 850 lbs, and about 950 lbs on floats. Maximum take off weight comes in about 1300 lbs (1400 on floats). It has about 440 lbs useful load. It has an endurance of about 5 hours in the air with 21 gallons spread between a main tank and two wing tanks.

The Champ is 21 ft, 6 inches long. The wings are 35 feet 2 inches across. It gets off the ground in 300 feet solo, and 400 feet dual. It climbs at 600 fpm dual and 800 solo, which is not too bad.

Champs aren't cheap compared to some other planes. A quick look at Barnstormers shows them in the $30-35k range. Still, that's cheaper than a SuperCub, and they make a good little rec backcountry plane.