Aircraft model
CHAMPION 7EC
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The Traveler is the developed Champ: 90 hp instead of 65, twice the fuel, an electrical system as standard and a properly finished interior. Champion built it as a tourer rather than a trainer, and it is a genuinely more usable aeroplane than a 7AC without losing the character.
At 85 knots with 26 gallons it will actually go somewhere, which a 65 hp Champ will not. It remains a two-seat tandem fabric taildragger with all that implies: a tailwheel endorsement, real currency, and a recovering bill that will eventually exceed the aeroplane's value. Establish the fabric's age and the state of the steel tube structure beneath it first. Many have been re-engined or upgraded over the years, so confirm what is actually fitted against the paperwork.
Compare with…
Put CHAMPION 7EC side by side with up to two other models.
- CHAMPION 7EC
What it is
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | taildragger |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Continental C-90-12F |
| Horsepower | 90 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1958 |
| Production end | 1964 |
| Endorsements required | tailwheel |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 85 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 350 nm |
| Service ceiling | 12,000 ft |
| Climb rate | 600 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 40 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 560 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 404 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 1,450 lb |
| Empty weight | 890 lb |
| Usable fuel | 26 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 5 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $28,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $55,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 1,800 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $23,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $33,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 286 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 157 |
| Median year built | 1956.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 10 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 2 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 63.691 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 63.692 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 36 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 22.933 |
| Airworthiness directives | 2 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | ok |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 157 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 157 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 157 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 2 of 101 |
| Severity | 3.2 of 102 |
| Access | 4.6 of 103 |
| Support | 7.8 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 6.4 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 24 out of 506 |
These record scores treat CHAMPION 7EC as one design with the same aircraft registered under other names: it includes 52 aircraft registered under AERONCA. 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.