Aircraft model
AERONCA 7BCM
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The 7BCM is the military version of the Aeronca Champ, built as the L-16A liaison and observation aircraft for the US Army. It has the 85 hp Continental in place of the 65 hp engine, a higher gross weight and provision for military equipment, and surplus aircraft went onto the civil register in quantity.
For a buyer it is a Champ with more power, which is worth having — 85 hp makes a real difference to climb and to useful load. The military history is worth reading in the logbooks, because these aircraft worked. Otherwise the family rules apply: it is fabric over steel tube, so recovering is the dominant lifetime cost and the covering's age is the first question, with corrosion in the tubing second. Most examples have been converted to standard civil configuration and many qualify as light sport aircraft.
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- AERONCA 7BCM
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 | 1950 |
| Endorsements required | tailwheel |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 78 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 300 nm |
| Service ceiling | 13,000 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 | 520 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 442 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 1,300 lb |
| Empty weight | 780 lb |
| Usable fuel | 13 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 4.8 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $22,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $42,000 |
| 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 | 366 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 175 |
| Median year built | 1946.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 9 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 1 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 51.431 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 402 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 24 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 13.713 |
| Airworthiness directives | 0 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | ok |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 175 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 175 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 175 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 2.9 of 101 |
| Severity | 5 of 102 |
| Access | 3.2 of 103 |
| Support | 7.6 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 2.3 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 21 out of 506 |
These record scores treat AERONCA 7BCM as one design with the same aircraft registered under other names: it includes 19 aircraft registered under CHAMPION. Prices are not combined.
- 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.