Champion 8GCBC
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The Scout as built by American Champion since the early 1990s: the same 180 hp two-seat tandem utility taildragger with flaps and a long wing, but with metal wing spars in place of the wooden ones. It is used for glider towing, banner towing, survey work and backcountry flying.
The metal spar is the reason to prefer it and it removes the inspection burden that hangs over every Bellanca-era aircraft in this family. Modern fabric lasts far longer than cotton. It carries 800 lb, gets into short strips easily and tows gliders all day, which is what most of them do. Prices are high because new ones are and because demand from clubs is steady. As a taildragger with a large wing it is sensitive to wind on the ground and insurers want real tailwheel time.
Variants of the Champion 8GCBC Scout
- 8GCBC · 1990 · 217 active · this page
Also consider
- Piper PA-12Score 24.2/50 · 3 seats · 90 kt
- Waco YMF-F5CPartial 10.9/30 · 3 seats · 105 kt
- Piper PA-16SNo overall score · 3 seats · 84 kt
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- Champion 8GCBC
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Watch this model
One email a day if anything changes: new ADs and NTSB records.
What it is
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | taildragger |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Lycoming O-360-C1G |
| Horsepower | 180 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1990 |
| Production end | current |
| Endorsements required | tailwheel |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 110 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 480 nm |
| Service ceiling | 17,000 ft |
| Climb rate | 1,100 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 44 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 800 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 590 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 2,150 lb |
| Empty weight | 1,350 lb |
| Usable fuel | 35 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 10.1 gal/h |
Estimated cost to own
An estimate, not a quote. Change the inputs to match how you would fly it. Defaults are for a single-engine piston, 1–2 seats.
| Fuel (burn × price) | hourly | $75/h | $7,484/yr |
| Engine reserve (overhaul ÷ TBO) | hourly | $1,950/yr | |
| Maintenance reserve | hourly | $1,500/yr | |
| Insurance | fixed | $1,400/yr | |
| Annual inspection | fixed | $1,500/yr | |
| Hangar | fixed | $6,000/yr | |
| Rental rate, wet | for comparison |
How these estimates are built. Fuel = this model's typical burn x the national average price from AirNav's Fuel Price Report (100LL $7.41, Jet A $7.66 per gallon, 5 Oct 2026; your airport may differ by $2 or more). Engine reserve = typical overhaul cost / TBO for this engine. The remaining lines are class-level defaults, not quotes for this aircraft: annual inspection is the base inspection fee (findings are counted in the per-hour maintenance line); insurance assumes an instrument-rated owner with time in type and a $1M liability limit - less experienced pilots commonly pay 1.5-2x; hangar and tie-down are national mid-tier figures, with rural and metro options; the rental rate is a 2026 flight-school rate for a comparable aircraft, including fuel. Twin and turboprop maintenance defaults are estimates, not published figures. Sources: AirNav, BWI Aviation Insurance (2019-2026), Flying (May 2026), Savvy Aviation, American Flight Schools, published airport rate sheets. Every default is editable - change any number to match your situation. Depreciation, taxes, financing and major upgrades are not included. Depreciation is not included. An estimate, not a quote.
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $65,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $400,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 2,000 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $32,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $46,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 245 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 217 |
| Median year built | 2008.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 15 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 2 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 69.121 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 64.522 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 57 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 26.273 |
| Airworthiness directives | 8 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | ok |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 217 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 217 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 217 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 3-4 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 1.9 of 101 |
| Severity | 5.6 of 102 |
| Access | 1.1 of 103 |
| Support | 8 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 8.6 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 25.2 out of 506 |
These record scores treat Champion 8GCBC as one design with the same aircraft registered under other names: it includes 182 aircraft registered under BELLANCA; includes the record of aircraft once registered under CHAMPION. Prices are not combined.
- Accident record: class median 32.28 · 204 models in class.
- Severity: class median 12.5.
- Access: class median 775.
- Support: class median 148.
- Liquidity: class median 19.9.
- 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. When accident record and severity cannot be scored because the model has too few records, the other three give a partial score out of 30, labelled as such; it is never set against a full score.
Data as of: FAA registry Sep 28 · NTSB Oct 2 · ADs Oct 6 · scores Sep 30