Aeronca Champ: prices, price cuts and days on market

Buyer's notes

About the Aeronca Champ

What it is

The Aeronca 7AC Champion is the two-seat tandem taildragger Aeronca brought out in 1945 to catch the postwar training boom, and it caught it. Roughly seven thousand 7ACs left the Middletown, Ohio factory. It is a steel-tube fuselage with wood wing spars, all of it fabric covered, on a 65 hp Continental A65 with no electrical system. Unlike the Cub it was built to beat, you solo it from the front seat, so you can see over the nose on the ground.

The Champ flies about how you would expect a 65 hp airplane with a big wing to fly: slow, forgiving, and honest about what it is doing. The oleo gear soaks up bad landings, and the cabin is wider and brighter than a Cub's.

Variants that matter for price

The 7AC is the bulk of what sells. The military L-16 versions became the civilian 7BCM (85 hp) and 7CCM (90 hp), and the 7DC and 7EC of the late 1940s and 1950s brought the C85 and C90, with an electrical system on the 7EC. The 7FC Tri-Traveler put a nosewheel on it and is worth less to most buyers for that reason.

A plain 7AC that still has its A65 and no electrics is the entry point. The same airframe with a C85 or C90 conversion, or an O-200 under an STC, asks more because the climb on a hot day stops being a suggestion. Metal spars, a starter and a decent radio each move the number. Sellers list them as 7AC, 7DC, 7EC, and sometimes just "Champ 85."

What buyers check

Fabric first. Ask what it was covered with and when, and get a punch test on the belly and the bottom of the wing rather than the pretty top surface. The lower longerons, the tail post and the tubing under the floorboards rust from the inside, especially on airplanes that sat outside. The wood spars have a well-known repetitive inspection for cracks near the strut and compression fittings, and any Champ that has not had the spars looked at closely in recent memory should be priced as if it needs it. Metal spar conversions take that worry off the table.

On the gear, look for oleo struts that hold pressure and attach points without elongated bolt holes. Check the logs for a wingtip strike or a nose-over, both common with heel brakes and a student in the front seat. Useful load is tight with two adults and full fuel, so a heavy repaint or a starter and battery come straight out of what you can carry.

Who it suits

The Champ suits someone who wants to learn or relearn tailwheel flying, fly off grass, and spend an evening at 500 feet with the window open. Most 7ACs qualify for sport pilot privileges, which matters to older pilots. It is not a cross-country machine, it will not carry two big people and bags, and it is miserable in a strong crosswind. Realistic cross-shopping is the Piper J-3 Cub, the Taylorcraft BC-12D, and a Cessna 120 or 140 if you would rather sit side by side.