Aeronca-Bellanca History Page 5

A history of the Aeronca, Bellanca, American Champion Family of Aircraft

By Tom Beamer

Page 1 - Aeronca Beginnings

Page 2 - Aeronca/Champion/Bellanca-Champion/American Champion Models

Page 3 - Early Aircraft Designations

Page 4 - The Citabria Era Designations

Page 5 - The 8 Series

Page 6 - And…..

Page 7 - Structure (Fuselage and Wings)

The 8 series

· 8KCAB, Decathlon, 150 hp fixed pitch prop, Super Decathlon, 180 hp constant speed prop, both with inverted fuel and oil, a originally a 7KCAB with a semi-symmetrical airfoil, this is the dedicated aerobatic mount.

· 8GCBC, Scout, 180 hp constant speed prop, the design basis was the 7GCBC to which was added a longer wing and taller gear to increase the gross weight/useful load, optional long range tanks double the endurance. This is the plane that directly competes with the Super Cub and Husky.

Within the Aeronca/Champion lineage there have been no less than four aircraft named Scout. The predecessor to the pre-war Chief was the first Scout, the 11ACS economy version of the post-war Chief was the second Scout, the 7GCBC was the third Scout, and finally the 8GCBC is the fourth Scout.