Aircraft model
CHAMPION 7GCBA
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The Champion 7GCB Challenger is a 150 hp development of the Champ with flaps and a longer wing, built before the Citabria designation appeared. It climbs at over 1,100 fpm and gets off the ground very short, which made it useful for glider towing and utility work as well as sport flying.
It sits between the low-powered Champs and the aerobatic Citabrias, and it is not certified for aerobatics in the way the 7GCBC and 7KCAB that followed are. The wooden wing spars used on Champion and Bellanca era aircraft carry a documented cracking history with associated inspection requirements, which is the single most important thing to verify on any aircraft in this family from this period. Fabric is the other dominant cost.
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Put CHAMPION 7GCBA side by side with up to two other models.
- CHAMPION 7GCBA
What it is
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | taildragger |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Lycoming O-320-A2B |
| Horsepower | 150 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1962 |
| Production end | 1965 |
| Endorsements required | tailwheel |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 100 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 450 nm |
| Service ceiling | 17,000 ft |
| Climb rate | 1,120 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 45 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 600 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 444 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 1,650 lb |
| Empty weight | 1,050 lb |
| Usable fuel | 26 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 8.4 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $45,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $95,000 |
| 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 | 10 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 2 |
| Median year built | 1964.5 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 1 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | — |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | — |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 0 |
| Transfers per 100 active | — |
| Airworthiness directives | 1 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | none |
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | 0.2 of 103 |
| Support | 1.7 of 104 |
| Liquidity | —5 |
- 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.