Aircraft model
BELLANCA 14-13
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The Bellanca 14-13 Cruisair Senior is a postwar four-seat retractable taildragger with a wooden wing, a Franklin engine and a distinctive triple tail. It cruises at 130 knots on only 150 hp, which is remarkable efficiency and is what the wooden wing buys.
Two problems govern ownership and both are serious. The Franklin engine has scarce parts and few overhaul shops, as it does on Stinsons and Seabees, and a tired one can exceed the aircraft's value to replace. The wooden wing must be kept dry and inspected by someone who understands wood — a Bellanca that has lived outside or leaked can have a wing that is uneconomic to repair. Hangarage is not optional. Bought well and kept dry it is fast and characterful; bought carelessly it is unsellable.
Compare with…
Put BELLANCA 14-13 side by side with up to two other models.
- BELLANCA 14-13
What it is
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | taildragger |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Franklin 6A4-150-B3 |
| Horsepower | 150 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1946 |
| Production end | 1950 |
| Endorsements required | complex;tailwheel |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 130 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 500 nm |
| Service ceiling | 17,000 ft |
| Climb rate | 900 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 48 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 800 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 560 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 2,100 lb |
| Empty weight | 1,300 lb |
| Usable fuel | 40 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 8.4 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $30,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $75,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 1,200 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | — |
| Overhaul cost, high | — |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 217 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 43 |
| 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 | 0 · thin base (low)1 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 0 · thin base (low)2 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 8 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 18.6 · thin base (low)3 |
| Airworthiness directives | 1 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | low |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 43 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 43 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 43 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 3-4 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | —3 |
| Support | 1.7 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 3.4 of 105 |
- Accident record: class median 32.28 · 202 models in class.
- Severity: class median 12.5.
- Access: class median 775.
- Support: class median 147.5.
- 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.