Thinking of buying aeronca champ or chief

FlyinTN

FlyinTN

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Tbird
Has or does anyone own/fly an aeronca champ or chief? I am thinking of purchasing in the next few months.

Thanks!
 
What do you need to know specifically? I owned a Pre War Chief 25 years ago. Not sure how much help I can be now.
 
Anything really. Was it a good one to own? Is it known for any issues to watch for? What is the gross weight. I have looked a J3 cubs but they are hard to fit in. Just looking for something economical and easy to maintain.

Thanks for any help
 
I only owned it for about 9 or 10 months. Enjoyed the airplane, it was just that I couldn't afford it and a new house payment at that stage in my life. IIRC, the gross weight would allow it to fit into the light sport category. It is cozy for two people of other than slight stature.

I would think a Champ would be more comfortable, but they come with a higher price tag due to their popularity.

Also, there are still some aircraft that have the 65 HP lycoming engine on them. If possible, you might want to avoid them because of parts availability issues.

Other than that, they are fun little airplanes, dirt simple to maintain, and cheap to operate.
 
Ok great! Thanks for the info. I will note that on the Lycomb engine.
 
I learned to fly in a 7AC, did my first solo, PPL and land CPL add-on in one.

GREAT plane, hands down.

If I were buying, I'd go Cheif with skis, if you bring someone with you the side by side is nice, also they seem to cruse a little faster.
 
How long ago was that 93k? Would you own one? I am a first time buyer and I just don't want to buy trouble. I would have a prebuy inspection done.

Thanks!
 
Some do have electric start, but most have to be propped by hand.
I got along fine with the Champ in 100 degree weather with me and my instructor, but the Chief seemed to have a harder time of it.

If side-by-side seating is not important to you, I'd go with the Champ if you can find one. It is LSA and the Chief is not.
 
tinerj said:
Some do have electric start, but most have to be propped by hand.
I got along fine with the Champ in 100 degree weather with me and my instructor, but the Chief seemed to have a harder time of it.

If side-by-side seating is not important to you, I'd go with the Champ if you can find one. It is LSA and the Chief is not.
Click to expand...

Depending on the flavor of the Champ or Chief, either can be LSA or not. Later models and STC's put some of the airplanes out of the LSA realm. Earlier models of both, unmodified, are LSA qualified.

As far as advice goes... There is an inspection AD on the wood spars to look for cracks, splits, and/or other damage. Remember, these are 60+ year old aircraft. If they spent much of their lives outside anywhere other than a desert climate, the wood is suspect. Look carefully. New spars and a recover would cost you almost the value of the airplane.

One of the weaknesses with the Champ is that the structure on the right (door) side tends to deform after decades of bad landings, making the distance between the front wing attach point and the strut attach fitting on the fuselage shrink. That causes angle of incidence differences between the right and left wings , resulting in interesting stalls and rigging. This is another gotcha that can be fixed, but not inexpensively. There is an Aeronca service letter from 50+ years ago regarding how to reinforce that area, but few aircraft were modified.

Chiefs have the reputation of being more difficult to handle on the ground. They definitely don't offer the superb visibility you get from a Champ.

The small tail versions of both have substantial adverse yaw. The bigger tail versions have less. Other than the fabric and paint, converting the a Champ or a Chief to the bigger dorsal is easy and is approved by an Aeronca service letter.
 
Thanks to all for input. Looking for an LSA that I can afford. Any thoughts on a Taylorcraft?
 
Taylorcrafts are fun, but you really, really have to watch the weight to stay legal. It's a very important question when you are buying...

Ryan
 
I own a 47 Chief... great little plane. If you want to know more, just BING Aeronca and get on the westmont.edu mail list, the NAA website and find out. A classic taildragger is as cheap a plane as you can get and it will make you a far better pilot. It is LSA approved and a real easy plane on the ground. Most of the issues of ground handling and ground loops are by keeping the tires too hard... they need to be at 12 - 15 psi, as per the factory manual. Too many put 25 lbs in them and that really makes a difference in a negative way.

http://www.aeroncapilots.com/forum2.html

http://www.reocities.com/mrpeters.geo/index.html
 
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TBird,
I own a 1946 Aeronca Chief and love it for almost all of the considerations given in other responses. It has been a wonderful aircraft for flying with my Lady (the side by side seating and visibility is great) It is a 65 HP Cont and runs like a top. No doubt more horsepower is a plus but it will also cost something. I'll give you only one negative about either Champs or Chiefs-Accept that you have to learn how to pilot a leaf. It's not hard to learn but necessary. A good CFI will get you through this easily. You might have known: I have my Chief for sale on Barnstormers ! The reason is not the aircraft or any associated costs. If you can live with the performance, a decent chief will pay you back in manifold ways. Why am I selling ?< Personal reasons not having to do with flying> While you are on Barnstormers, look at the other 3 or 4 Chiefs listed there too. There is very likely a match for your desires there somewhere. If you want to ask questions about Chief performance, send them to me, the NAA forum, the fearless Aeronca Association forum or even the EAA forum. You will find there are Aeronca lovers everywhere and most of them will be considerate and helpful.

Edgefly
 
I have a bunch of Champ time. Flew my uncle's 7AC a lot; don't be in a hurry to go anywhere, but it's still faster than a Cub. 80-85 MPH. Only 13 gallons of fuel, so range is short. Good to have the mixture control option to get the consumption down and increase the range. The A-65 in my Jodel burns 3.5 GPH with it. 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.

I also instructed in a 7EC (1956) that had the O-200 retrofitted. The original C-90 would have been better. Still, it outflew our Cessna 150s with the exact same engine: took off shorter, climbed much better, cruised faster, and was far more fun.

And I instructed in a 1996 7ECA which, by that time, had gained a pile of weight. Gross went from the 7AC's 1220 to around 1600. Some of the fun goes out of that. It feels heavier all around.

Champs are WAY easier to get in and out of than any Cub, too.

Dan
 
I have owned 3 Taylorcrafts, two champs. Taylorcrafts are fun to fly, tough to get into but once learned, easier. Like the 65 hp aeronca, they are underpowered which is why, over the years, owners have upgraded both the taylorcraft and the aeronca models to higher horsepower. My last champ was an 85 hp. With starter, transponder, and transceiver. It flew well, climbed much better than the 65 hp and allowed me to get in and out of shorter fields. I would chose a champ due to its great visibility, ease of entrance, easy to fly and IF ......IF you buy a nice one, in good condition, you will get your money out of it when you sell it. You should have a TRUSTED AI go over whatever you buy VERY carefully and be sure it has been hangared since it's rebuild. Be SURE you understand the problems associated with hand propping an aircraft if you are buying an airplane without a starter. Today, very few people will assist you in propping your airplane, not like the "old days" . A NICE champ, fitted out like the one I had will be 28,000 to 34,000. You will get what you pay for if you are careful in your purchase. Champ spars, wood, are hard to inspect unless the fabric is OFF the wings. Buyer beware! If the airplane has not been hangered since rebuild, don't buy it!
 
You did not mention if you were flying light sport. I only flew these aircraft after I had to go light sport. If I were simply buying a taildragger because I liked them and had a private ticket in force, I would buy an F model Luscombe in excellent condition. They are a lot of fun to fly, 90 hp. Easy to fly and taxi. GREAT little airplane! same buying rules apply! Many log books are fairly tales. Be careful!
 
If your frame of reference is a J3, you will think the champ is extremely comfortable. Personally not a big fan of the chief but that's more about rubbing shoulders than anything else.
 
kyleb said:
One of the weaknesses with the Champ is that the structure on the right (door) side tends to deform after decades of bad landings, making the distance between the front wing attach point and the strut attach fitting on the fuselage shrink. That causes angle of incidence differences between the right and left wings , resulting in interesting stalls and rigging. This is another gotcha that can be fixed, but not inexpensively. There is an Aeronca service letter from 50+ years ago regarding how to reinforce that area, but few aircraft were modified.
Click to expand...
Wow, didn't know that... but the good news is: it's easy to not make many bad landings in a Champ. A real pussycat once you get settled in.
 
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