[Sky Captain]

Kicking and screaming I belted her in Uncle Bill's Champ.






Her Aunt Darlene went up with Uncle Bill first then we took the Beech up and flew the gap to Amacalola Falls.


Uncle Bill and his 1946 Aeronca Champ.

[Madferret]

Looks like a piper cub wannabe.

[Sky Captain]

It's funny to hear the Cub and Champ owners banter back and forth.

[Madferret]

Heh. Still, a plane is a plane. All that fly are sweet.

[Jawbone54]

Uncles with hobbies rock.

[abe]

More than one person has called the Champ the most fun plane to fly. Here's a forum for pilots.

http://forums.airlinepilotcentral.co...ead.php?t=3263

This EAA site requires membership unless (like me) you use the cached results.

THE AERONCA CHAMP
BY BUDD DAVISSON

When it comes to picking their favorite post-war trainer, most folks fall into line behind one of two airplanes -- the Cub or the Champ. Both have their supporters and detractors, but all will admit that the little Aeronca Champ is the only classic of the period to give the Cub a run for its money in the learning-to-fly game.
The first lines for the new airplane, the Model 7 Champion, were laid on vellum early in 1944 and the airplane flew in May of that year. Chief test pilot Louis Wehrung did the honors. The official designation of the airplane was 7AC (Model 7, first variation, Champion) and it used the A-65 Continental.

In laying out the configuration of the Champ, designer Ray Hermes took square aim at his primary competition, the J-3 Cub, which by that time was nearly a decade old. He made a list of every one of the Cub's shortcomings and designed them out of his new airplane. The final lines of the Champ are the net result of anti-Cub design goals.

Forward visibility had always been a Cub weak point and Hermes solved that in two ways. First, he put the pilot in the front seat and, second, he raised the seating position and dropped the nose so the pilot could see straight ahead while on the ground. This is why a Champ appears so high in the cabin, when compared to the Cub. The Cub may have finer, sleeker lines, but the Champ pilot can not only see where he's going but sits up in real comfort (relatively speaking).

Cubs also came in for criticism in the drafty arrangement of the door. While the split door may be perfect for viewing sunsets today, when the Cub was working for a living, instructors and students alike cursed the leaky doors. The Champion used a hinged, single-piece door not unlike an automobile.

A little over 8,100 Champs were produced, most of which were the 65 hp 7ACs which ended production in April of 1948 to be replaced by the 85 hp 7BCM (it was fuel injected and had a larger dorsal fin as well) which was ordered by the military as the L-16A. The military then went to 90 hp (fuel injected) and the nearest civilian counterpart was the 7CCM. The most common civilian version to come out of all of this was a combination of the A and B Model L-16, the 85 hp 7DC which had the larger dorsal and an additional fuel tank in the right wing. Only 166 7DCs were built before the final Champ, the 90 hp 7EC, was introduced. The final Champ rolled off the Aeronca line in January of 1951. It was Champ 7EC, SN 96, N4749E (shown on the FAA records as being owned by Martin Wayne and Lester Frick of Arvin, CA).

A good design has a way of surviving and the 7EC is one of those. In 1954, Champion Aircraft of Osceola, WI put the 7EC back into production where it continued to be upgraded, eventually becoming the 7ECA Citabria in the early 1960s.

http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:s...;client=safari

[greenamp]

Is your uncle Jimmy Carter?

[Sky Captain]

No not Jimmy Carter. But I have an Inlaw that is from the Carter family. Yes that Carter Family.
I grew up in South Georgia.
I've been around the Carters many times. I was even requested to be his pilot when he chartered one of our planes.


Here's Amacalola Falls.
My father in law and I took the Beech sight-seeing this afternoon.

He's a 747 Captain and I let him fly while I shot pictures.

[abe]

Never ever heard of the Amicalola Falls until this thread!

http://www.gastateparks.org/info/amicalola/

[Sky Captain]

The photo on their website dosen't do the falls justice.
To see it from the air is cool.
To experience them from the trail is breathtaking!

[Fred_Cokebottle]

Another vote for the Champ because of this:

[Sky Captain]

Yes, the non bungee type spring oleo strut is a BIG plus.
One of his biplanes uses a Cessna 150 spring gear and the other bi-plane uses bungees.
Cubs are popular because they were cheap after the war.
And plentyful. The Champ is MUCH gentler to fly.
I always bring it in on the tailwheel first. And this is easier in the Champ.*