Aircraft model
AERONCA 11BC-CONV
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The 11BC is a postwar Aeronca Chief with the 85 hp Continental in place of the 65 hp engine, and a higher gross weight. The extra twenty horsepower is the most worthwhile improvement the airframe received: climb goes from leisurely to adequate and it will carry two adults without argument.
It is the side-by-side counterpart to the tandem Champ, which most passengers prefer, and the cabin is narrow but workable. At 80 knots it is a local aeroplane rather than transport. Fabric over steel tube means recovering is the dominant lifetime cost, and the covering's age should be established before anything else, with corrosion in the tubing second. The postwar Chief designations are numerous and closely related; confirm which variant an aircraft actually is.
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Put AERONCA 11BC-CONV side by side with up to two other models.
- AERONCA 11BC-CONV
What it is
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | taildragger |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Continental C-85-12 |
| Horsepower | 85 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1947 |
| Production end | 1948 |
| Endorsements required | tailwheel |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 80 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 330 nm |
| Service ceiling | 14,500 ft |
| Climb rate | 600 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 38 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 550 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 460 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 1,350 lb |
| Empty weight | 800 lb |
| Usable fuel | 15 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 4.8 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $15,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $40,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 1,800 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $22,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $32,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 2 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 1 |
| Median year built | 1946.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | — |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | — |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 0 |
| Transfers per 100 active | — |
| Airworthiness directives | 0 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | none |
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | —3 |
| Support | 0.8 of 104 |
| Liquidity | —5 |
- Accident record: class median 29.1 · 174 models in class.
- Severity: class median 9.09.
- Access: class median 974.
- Support: class median 81.
- Liquidity: class median 20.47.
- Each of the five categories places the model within its peer class, from 0 (the worst of the class) to 10 (the best): a position among comparable models, not a grade. The overall score is the sum of the categories shown that are scored, out of 10 for each (50 when all five are); it is given only when at least 4 of the five are scored, and it can be set against another model's only when both are in the same peer class and scored on the same categories.