American Champion Decathlon
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (October 2008) |
8KCAB Decathlon | |
---|---|
Role | Sports plane and trainer
|
Manufacturer | American Champion Aircraft |
Designer | Champion Aircraft Corporation
|
Introduction | 1972 |
Number built | Over 6,000[1] |
The American Champion 8KCAB Decathlon and Super Decathlon are two-seat fixed
The Decathlon was designed by the
Development
The Decathlon entered production at Champion in 1972, immediately before the company was acquired by Bellanca Aircraft Corporation, so only a handful were produced by Champion. Bellanca continued production of the Decathlon throughout the 1970s, moving to the Super Decathlon variant during 1976. Bellanca built over 600 of the 8KCAB design before production of the aircraft was interrupted when the company's assets were liquidated in 1981.
The Decathlon design passed through the hands of a number of companies through the 1980s, including a
Design
The Decathlon traces its lineage back to the
The strut-braced
as opposed to the Citabria's flat-bottomed airfoil. This change gives the Decathlon better inverted flight and negative-g maneuver capabilities.The landing gear of the Decathlon is in a conventional arrangement. The main gear legs of most Decathlons are made of spring steel, though American Champion began to use aluminum gear legs in 2004.
Like the 7KCAB, the engine of the 8KCAB has a fuel injection system, as opposed to a carburetor. To facilitate negative-g flight, the fuel system incorporates a 1.5 gallon header tank beneath the instrument panel, and the engine is fitted with a Christen Industries inverted oil system.
Champion and Bellanca built the Decathlon with several
Operational history
Though the Decathlon went out of production within 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. Since its reintroduction, the Super Decathlon has sold steadily. Decathlons and Super Decathlons remain popular as aerobatic trainers, as beginning and intermediate aerobatic aircraft, and as personal aircraft.
Famous people
Variants
- Champion Model 8KCAB Decathlon
- Original designation.
- Bellanca Decathlon
- Two-seat light cabin aircraft, powered by a 112-kW (150-hp) Lycoming AEIO-320-E1B piston engine.
- Bellanca Decathlon CS
- Two-seat light cabin aircraft, powered by a 112-kW (150-hp) Lycoming AEIO-320-E1B piston engine, fitted with a constant-speed propeller.
- Bellanca Super Decathlon
- Two-seat light cabin aircraft, powered by a 134-kW (180-hp) Lycoming AEIO-360-H1A or -H1B piston engine, fitted with a constant speed propeller.
- American Champion Xtreme
- Model introduced in 2012, powered by a 210 hp (157 kW)
Specifications (8KCAB Super Decathlon)
Data from Manufacturer[7]
General characteristics
- Crew: one
- Capacity: one passenger
- Length: 22.9 ft (7.0 m)
- Wingspan: 32 ft (9.8 m)
- Height: 7.7 ft (2.3 m)
- Wing area: 169.1 sq ft (15.71 m2)
- Empty weight: 1,340 lb (608 kg)
- Gross weight: 1,950 lb (885 kg) (normal category)
- Fuel capacity: 40 U.S. gallons (150 L; 33 imp gal)
- Powerplant: 1 × horizontally-opposed aircraft engine, 180 hp (130 kW)
- Propellers: Hartzell Propeller HC-C2YR-4CF/FC7666A-2
- Propellers: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) diameter
Performance
- Maximum speed: 155 mph (249 km/h, 135 kn) at sea level
- Cruise speed: 141 mph (227 km/h, 123 kn)
- Stall speed: 53 mph (85 km/h, 46 kn) (clean)
- Never exceed speed: 200 mph (320 km/h, 170 kn)
- Endurance: 3.4 hours at 75% power
- Service ceiling: 15,800 ft (4,800 m)
- g limits: +6/-5
- Rate of climb: 1,280 ft/min (6.5 m/s)
- Wing loading: 10.64 lb/sq ft (51.9 kg/m2)
- Power/mass: 10 lb/hp
See also
Related development
References
Notes
- ^ "American Champion & Bellanca series". Airliners.net. Retrieved 2012-07-24.
- ^ https://www.planeandpilotmag.com/article/the-new-super-decathlon/
- ^ Missing - Steve Fossett from Check-Six.com
- ^ Wreck confirmed as Fossett plane, an October 2008 BBC News article
- ^ Photo of James May with his 8KCAB Decathlon
- ^ Grady, Mary (22 July 2012). "Decathlon Adds Lycoming For "Xtreme" Aerobat". AVweb. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
- ^ American Champion Aircraft. "Super Decathlon Model 8KCAB Specifications". Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
Bibliography
- "American airplanes: Al - av". Aerofiles: A Century of American Aviation. Archived from the original on 15 August 2006. Retrieved 2006-08-12.
- "American airplanes: Ca - ci". Aerofiles: A Century of American Aviation. Archived from the original on 23 August 2006. Retrieved 2006-08-12.
- "Bellanca". Aerofiles: A Century of American Aviation. Archived from the original on 20 July 2006. Retrieved 2006-08-12.
- Type certificate data sheet no. A21CE. Revision 13. (Oct. 14, 2004.) Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration.