Aircraft model
AMERICAN CHAMPION AIRCRAFT 7GCAA
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The Citabria Adventure as built by American Champion, who bought the type certificates and restarted production in the early 1990s. It is the 160 hp version without flaps, used for tailwheel training, basic aerobatics and recreational flying.
The important difference from a Champion or Bellanca-built aircraft is the wing. American Champion replaced the wooden spars with metal ones, which removes the spar cracking issue that hangs over every older aircraft in this family and is the single best reason to pay the considerable premium. The fabric is modern and long-lived rather than cotton. What has not changed is that it carries two people and little else, cruises at 105 knots, and is a taildragger requiring an endorsement and real currency.
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Put AMERICAN CHAMPION AIRCRAFT 7GCAA side by side with up to two other models.
- AMERICAN CHAMPION AIRCRAFT 7GCAA
What it is
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | taildragger |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Lycoming O-320-B2B |
| Horsepower | 160 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1995 |
| Production end | current |
| Endorsements required | tailwheel |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 105 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 480 nm |
| Service ceiling | 17,000 ft |
| Climb rate | 1,200 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 45 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 620 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 410 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 1,800 lb |
| Empty weight | 1,180 lb |
| Usable fuel | 35 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 9 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $95,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $230,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 2,000 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $28,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $40,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 125 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 119 |
| Median year built | 2001.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 2 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 16.811 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 02 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 31 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 26.053 |
| Airworthiness directives | 5 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | ok |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 119 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 119 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 119 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | 9.6 of 103 |
| Support | 7.7 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 7.4 of 105 |
- Accident record: class median 25 · 181 models in class.
- Severity: class median 5.
- Access: class median 987.
- Support: class median 72.
- Liquidity: class median 20.59.
- 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.