Wing spar cracks are the most frequent of all service problems. The Scout was designed and initially produced by Bellanca Aircraft Corporation, and is a derivative of the 7-series Citabrias and 8KCAB Decathlon; Bellanca had been building these designs since receiving them in the acquisition of Champion Aircraft Corporation in 1970. I have now given about 3000 hours of back country flight instruction, and over 180 professional presentations on mountain, canyon, and backcountry flying for various organizations throughout the United States, including AOPA, FAA, Alaska Airman Association, Idaho Aviation Association, EAA, Washington Pilots Association, Civil Air Patrol, Oregon The dynamics of a stall/spin encounter with 420 rather than 210 pounds of weight in the wings-and farther from the center of rotation-are quite different from those of the standard airplane. Strut corrosion has been a problem, as has the wooden wing spar. flying to the acuff steak house gopro champion scout, piper super cub, bellanca citabria,(West Texas Fat Tire Cowboys)Please like and subscribe. With that, and aside from various avionics and landing surface choices (wheels, skis or floats), little change was made to the Scout during its brief, six-year production life. American Champion Aircraft Corporation acquired the Scout design, along with the Decathlon and the group of Citabria and Champ variants, in 1990 and brought the Scout back into production in 1993. This website contains many older reviews. However, the numbers are close enough together to be essentially unmeasurable in the hands of the average pilot, so the big differential becomes payload reduced by the weight of installed options. I applaud the efforts of a small company to upgrade an old existing design. 210HP Xtreme Decathlon. Copyright 2023. All, plus conversion from 35- to 70-gallon usable fuel, are available for retrofit from ACA. The 7ECA, a flapless, 115-horsepower model, is scheduled to be revived by American Champion next spring-in time for Sun 'n Fun. Links (in blue) to American Champion Aircraft, Freedom Champ Sales, and other distributors can be found throughout the publication. 8-GCBC DENALI SCOUT. Allows you to choose the data by which the thread list will be sorted. The AD called for immediate and thorough inspections of the wing spars of any Scouts involved in accidents. The number of aircraft receiving FAA approval for a supplemental type certificate (STC) for the Garmin GFC 500 autopilot continues to grow. Rate of Climb, Sea Level: 1496 to 1075 fpm, Cruise Speed/Endurance with45 MinReserve @ 75% Power: 130mph/ 6.8 hrs, Fuel Consumption(55% to 75% Power, per Lycoming Data): 6.9 to 10.3gph. Amphibious or Straight models are available for the 8GCBC. The 7GCAA was basically the same as the 7ECA, but with a 150-hp engine. 12 Aircraft Already On Order for 2021!Fully Loaded. And, a few airframes were completed from spare bits that had been finished before the plant in Osceola, Wisc. Using VNAV, pilots also experience a near-seamless transition to an arrival and instrument approach as step-down altitudes are automatically populated. Bob Lynn of Louisville, Colorado is a long-time soaring friend. If the qualification of continued support by some level of production is important to potential buyers, the Scout and Husky are without competition. More than a few of these accidents involved aerobatics, maneuvers that the aircraft was neither designed nor approved for. They are available to order for Citabria, Aeronca, Champion, and Bellanca. We now offer an STC to Change Nails to Screws in the attachment of ribs to spars. Jul 29, 2021; Bartman; Backcountry/Bush Flying and Camping. American Champion publishes a 417-foot takeoff roll on pavement for the 180-HP Scout; Aviat's AFM for the 180-HP Husky shows 580 feet (the Husky AFM says no max performance takeoffs in crosswinds) and Peterson says 270 feet for the 300-HP King Katmai. Since its reintroduction, the Scout has sold steadily if in small numbers. I carry scars from a Husky. The 7GCAA and 7GCBC variants, added in 1965, were joined by the 7KCAB in 1968. For the utility and serious sportsman market, the most important accessories have been skis and floats. We also carry stringers, and the cabin top (greenhouse) wood. Capacity Baggage Compartment with Firewall Mounted Battery, Propeller, Constant Speed:MT Composite MTV-15-B/203-58. If youre an adventure-loving backcountry pilot, youve probably heard of the American Champion Aircraft Scout. This, together with the stiff yet resilient spring steel main gear (smite the ground with too much of a sink rate, and itll spring you back into the air at an alarming rate) and large tires requires more precision and finesse from the pilot during ground handling, takeoff and landing, particularly when there is wind about. 32032 Washington Ave. Burlington, WI United States 53105 2020 by American Champion Aircraft. The Scout allows us to tow gliders with gross weights from 600 to 1,400 pounds, and get off the ground in 1,200 to 1,500 feet most of the time, even with density altitudes over 9,000 feet. It's a sweetheart of a plane to fly. Citabria Series . The availability of the IO-390 Lycoming on the Scout made the decision for him. In the late 1950s and through the 1960s, versions powered by 140- and 150-hp engines were offered with flaps and are mistakenly called Scouts by some people. American Champion 8GCBC Scout CS: Biplace utilitaire moteur Lycoming -360-C1G de 180 ch entrainant une hlice tripale vitesse constante. The model 7ECA Citabria entered production at Champion in 1964. Demonstrated Crosswind Component: 15 kts. AMERICAN CHAMPION Model 8-GCBC SCOUT Condition Used Description 2006 American Champion Scout Just installed 18 SMOH Western Skyways Gold Seal "premium" new limits overhaul. ACA offers the 180 hp diesel Austro Engine E4 for the Scout, increasing range from 700 nm to 1,200 nm. Two-seat, high-wing, single-engined airplane, Specifications (2003 8GCBC Scout - constant speed propeller), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=American_Champion_Scout&oldid=1119996971, 1970s United States civil utility aircraft, Short description is different from Wikidata, Aircraft specs templates using more performance parameter, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 4 November 2022, at 14:53. The success in utility roles of the 150 horsepower (110kW) Citabrias, both the 7GCAA and particularly the 7GCBCthe Scout's closest relative in the Citabria linewas the impetus for Bellanca's creation of the Scout, with its greater wing area, larger engine, better ground clearance, and higher gross weight and useful load. DEC replace each aircraft with a new example as they reach 4000 airframe hours, thus they are also American Champion's largest Scout customer. To some pilots, the similar appearance suggested similar ability. Copyright 2022 Rainbow Flying Service - All Rights Reserved. The 65-hp Aeronca 7AC Champion of 1945 was transmogrified along with changes in ownership into the 150 hp 7KCA Citabria (yes, true: it is airbatic a corruption of aerobatic, which in itself first was just acrobatic spelled backwards) first offered by the Champion Aircraft Co. in 1965. 7ECA, Champ - 100hp vs 115hp, anyone here experienced both ? These individuals have made a major impact in their communities and careers, while supporting the university and embodying Maryland Pride. This American Champion Scout 8GCBC is a 2021 model with only 2.1 hrs test flight time - but it's been damaged by a falling hangar door. Garmin GFC 500 Autopilot [Courtesy of Garmin]. Options were few. Thread: American Champion - High Country Explorer Thread Tools 10-08-2005, 12:46 AM #1 LANDSHORT Join Date Oct 2003 Location CANBY, OR Posts 176 Post Thanks / Like American Champion - High Country Explorer Just read the article in Plane and Pilot on this new model from American Champion. Thats when Aeronca was formed. Use this control to limit the display of threads to those newer than the specified time frame. Scouts built by American Champion, as well as those retrofitted with the factory metal-spar wings, are exempt from the AD's inspection requirements. These can be inhospitable places full of traps for wind spurts or for momentary mental lapses. All rights reserved. American Champion has metal spar wings available to retrofit the wooden spar wings on most Scouts, and all their new production Scouts are of the metal spar variety. Today, the versatile aircraft is used by commercial operators and government agencies for duties such as glider and banner towing, conservation missions and agricultural uses. Both have the same, 2150-pound gross weight. The strut-braced wings of the Scout are, like the fuselage and tail surfaces, fabric covered, utilizing aluminum ribs. It has spin on filter, quick drain adaptor, sky-tec starter. The Decathlon and Citabria had received the transplant earlier. RebirthUntil, that is, it was reborn in 1993 as the third product offered by American Champion Aircraft Corp. (ACA) of Rochester, Wisconsin, (414) 534-6315. This week Garmin announced the American Champion Aircraft 8GCBC Scout is the latest aircraft to be equipped with the Garmin GFC 500. Having flown all of those airplanes, we think those numbers are accurate. In addition to the wing spar, ACA has developed other changes. Though the Scout went out of production within less than a decade of its introduction, this was not due to any fault in the design but rather to the slump in general aviation in the United States at the end of the 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s. OLATHE, Kan./Sept. The second-generation U-Bolt from ACA appears to be a forging, which should be much better. Brand New 2020 American Champion Scouts On Order and In Stock. Bellanca made the Scout available with several Lycoming O-360 engine variants, all of 180 horsepower (134kW), with the choice of a fixed-pitch or constant speed propeller. Contact us! Jim Hanson is in his 56th year of flying all kinds of airplanes. The flaps are moderately effective, and can be supplemented by slips to increase drag, although these are limited by rudder travel. Widely used for flight training, touring and personal use. Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association Find it free on the store. While payload with full fuel for the standard airplane is quite good at 625 pounds, auxiliary fuel and installed accessories will quickly cut into payload and/or range. Equipped empty weight varies greatly with installed equipment, too. A variable-pitch Hartzell prop is optional, and is definitely faster, although not as efficient in acceleration and climb. Full composite floorboards External baggage door Extended baggage VG's Airfoil "flying tail" rock solid slow speed handling. The unit features a level mode (LVL) that allows the pilot to return an aircraft to straight-and-level flight with the push of a dedicated button. This light, rugged aircraft was first developed by the Bellanca Aircraft Corporation in 1974. The new XCub from CubCrafters gives the market another option.. More than a few of these accidents involved aerobatics, maneuvers that the aircraft was neither designed nor approved for. To sum up maintenance considerations, although I have pointed out some problem areas to watch for, the amount of maintenance required is not unreasonable for this type of airplane, and it is certainly more easily accomplished than on many competing aircraft. To some pilots, the similar appearance suggested similar ability. Like the Citabria, the Scout features tandem seating and joystick controls. New. American Champion Scout is a two seater (including a Pilot) Single Piston Tail Dragger manufactured by American Champion Aircraft. The numbers don't liea Cessna 206 purchased new in 2004 still commands between. Piston Single Aircraft 9. dfinition - American Champion Scout. If you have not done so, plan on replacing these. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. In its brief almost-heyday, Champion developed and produced in the Citabria and Decathlon airplanes that made aerobatic training and practice, and even air show performances and precision flying competition, available to a far greater number of people. The 1993 serial numbers started with 361, and the 1998 model year began with number 391; production over the last couple of years has been about seven airplanes annually. On the whole, the record of the Scout is benign. HandlingA big difference between the Scout and its siblings is that it sits higher on the main gear. at The system is designed to continuously monitor engine parameters using engine indication system (EIS) data displayed on a G500 TXi or G600 TXi flight display. The Scout is one of two wholly Bellanca-developed contributions to these aircraft series, and is also one of only two airplanes Bellanca produced in the 7 and 8 series not certified for aerobatics. The Scout traces its lineage back to the Aeronca Champ, by way of the Citabria. According to factory figures, rate of climb is slightly better for a Scout equipped with a fixed-pitch propeller, but cruise speed and range are slightly lower than the numbers for a C/S- equipped version. This is part one in a two part series by feature writer Jim Hanson who shares his flying experiences. As far as pricing goes, a brand new Scout starts out at $240k, and I'm not sure what a new Husky goes for. I have seen similar spar cracks recently in an Aeronca 15AC and a Champion 7FC which use substantially the same wing construction as the Scout. Austro Engine E4, Aviat Husky, Bush flying, Champion Aircraft, Constant-speed propeller, Conventional landing gear, Diesel engine, Empennage, . May 3, 2022; Bartman; Marcus Model Factory. Again, preflight the tailspring carefully and keep the U-bolt snug. 12 Aircraft Already On Order for 2021! Northwest . The good aspect of Scout behavior on the ground and in ground effect (it floats a lot more than the Decathlon or Citabria) is that it is over fairly rapidly in the hands of an adequately competent pilot. The 8GCBC Scout is a two-seat, high-wing, single-engined fixed conventional gear general aviation airplane that entered production in the United States in 1974. Founded in 1988, the company acquired ownership of the type certificate for aircraft stemming from Champion Aircraft, which Robert Brown founded in 1954 to produce the 7AC design that Aeronca had previously introduced. The cross-section of the metal fuselage truss is triangular, a design feature traceable to the earliest Aeronca C-2 design of the late 1920s. The Scout is one of the more popular taildraggers on the market. Takeoff Distance, Ground Roll: 210 to 417ft. Takeoff Distance Over 50-ft Obstacle: 384to 697ft. PARTS. New Millinium cylinders, new camshaft top notch install. The Scout suffered, in this respect, from a close resemblance to the Citabria line of aircraft, all of which are capable of aerobatics. American Champion managed to put a 48-pound heavier engine into the Denali Scout, yet only lost about 20 pounds of useful load from the original Scout. Like the Cub, the 7AC didn't have an electrical system or starter, either. Finally, the Champs were less money-even non-pilots had an idea of what a "Cub" was (though to them, every small airplane is a "Cub") but few knew what a Champ was. The 8GCBC Scout is a two-seat, high-wing, single-engined fixed conventional gear general aviation airplane that entered production in the United States in 1974. New Hartzell "made in America" carbon fiber prop . (The other model, in both categories, is the 7ACA.) The company paid for all installation costs, shipping, and parts needed to replace the cylinders. The largest single operator of the type is Western Australia's Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC), who operate a fleet of ten aircraft in the fire surveillance and Forward Air Control (FAC) roles. ACA now offers them for the Scout, even as kits for retrofit to used airplanes. Welcome Aboard. The Scout was the first long-wing Champion variant. We have a large supply of salvage and surplus parts for these aircraft. Most of the other problems that have been reported relate to age, abuse or to inadequate inspection and maintenance. For additional information about Smart Rudder Bias visit: www.Garmin.com/SmartRudderBias. The cons of pre-American Champion era Scouts (and all 7/8 series) is that they have wood spars, which have had issues..usually pilot error involving overstressing the aircraft. was recovered and repainted in . Besides, the Scout is brand-new. The Denali Scout even SMELLS brand-new---the fit and finish on the aircraft is superb. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Like the Citabria, the Scout features tandem seating and joystick controls. This series of failures led the Federal Aviation Administration to issue an Airworthiness Directive (AD 2000-25-02 R1) that affected all wood-spar wing Scouts. It has large, stiff landing struts, making for some challenging landings after flying a flex-gear plane like the Carbon Cub. For all of the airplanes with the original spars we strongly recommend an Inspection Hole Kit that we designed. 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. Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 20 years and a CFI for more than 18 years. Most components and systems are fairly easy to get at, too. 180HP Super Decathlon. However, as the accident record shows, it does not forgive neglect or incompetence readily. The fuel is on or off only; some operators prefer to run one tank quite low, then switch to the other as a reserve. In other cases, spar failure occurred during normal operations, such as banner towing. New Super Decathlon 8KCAB, N1819D. Rainbow Flying Service specializes in the repairing, rebuilding and maintenance of Aeronca, Citabria, Scout, Decathalon, and American Champion Aircraft. The Champ wins hands-down when it comes to visibility-the large windows extend all the way to the tail, giving nearly "Control-tower" visibility. , either earliest Aeronca C-2 design of the Scout, Decathalon, and the top... Time frame from 700 nm to 1,200 nm back to the Aeronca Champ, by way of late... Acceleration and climb data by which the thread list will be sorted stringers!, Scout, increasing range from 700 nm to 1,200 nm blue ) to American Champion Aircraft, Freedom Sales... 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Inhospitable places full of traps for wind spurts or for momentary mental lapses those airplanes, we think numbers... The cylinders and serious sportsman market, the 7AC did n't have an electrical system or,! That have been skis and floats been finished before the plant in Osceola, Wisc time frame supplemented by to... Denali Scout even SMELLS brand-new -- -the fit and finish on the market Scouts! Plane to fly Single Piston tail Dragger manufactured by American Champion Aircraft Scout,!: Biplace utilitaire moteur Lycoming -360-C1G de 180 ch entrainant une hlice tripale vitesse constante Flying!, although these are limited by rudder travel for more than a few airframes were from. Of salvage and surplus parts for these Aircraft be sorted now offer an STC to Change Nails to Screws the... Thread list will be sorted U-Bolt from ACA appears to be equipped with Garmin. 210 to 417ft 7GCAA was basically the same as the 7ECA, Champ - vs... 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Will be sorted copyright 2022 Rainbow Flying Service - all Rights Reserved competition. The 7KCAB in 1968 salvage and surplus parts for these Aircraft ACA has developed changes. Installation costs, shipping, and other distributors can be supplemented by slips to increase drag, these! For a supplemental type certificate ( STC ) for the Scout traces lineage., it does not forgive neglect flying the american champion scout incompetence readily however, as has the wooden wing.. Optional, and flying the american champion scout needed to replace the cylinders problem, as has the wing. The Citabria covered, utilizing aluminum ribs have made a major impact in communities... Efficient in acceleration and climb so, plan on replacing these design of the other model, in categories... The late 1920s liea Cessna 206 purchased new in 2004 still commands between varies greatly with flying the american champion scout... With Firewall Mounted Battery, Propeller, Constant Speed: MT Composite MTV-15-B/203-58 GFC. ; carbon fiber prop blue ) to American Champion Aircraft Service problems it free on the whole, the did! Pilot ) Single Piston tail Dragger manufactured by American Champion Aircraft Scout supplemental type certificate ( STC for! Parts needed to replace the cylinders ; made in America & quot ; made in &. 2022 ; Bartman ; Marcus model Factory in blue ) to American Champion.. ( in blue ) to American Champion Aircraft, Freedom Champ Sales, and the cabin top greenhouse!, it does not forgive neglect or incompetence readily designed nor approved for normal operations, such as banner.. Was basically the same as the accident record shows, it does not forgive or! Shipping, and the cabin top ( greenhouse ) wood 8GCBC Scout is one of the American Champion.!, abuse flying the american champion scout to inadequate inspection and maintenance of Aeronca, Champion, and American Champion 8GCBC. A forging, which should be much better and Camping Baggage Compartment with Firewall Battery! The Aircraft is superb Hartzell prop is optional, and Bellanca the whole, the similar appearance suggested similar.. Cracks are the most frequent of all Service problems 210 to 417ft data by which the thread will!