Aeronca 65 Chief (pre-war)

The pre-war Aeronca Chief, 1938-1941: the side-by-side two-seater that preceded the tandem Champ, with a 65 hp Continental (65-C) or the deluxe 65-CA Super Chief with an auxiliary tank. The O-58B is the wartime Grasshopper (later L-3B), the tandem liaison and observation version with greenhouse glazing, thousands of which came onto the civil register after the war.

The variants

MODEL	YEARS	ACTIVE	TAILFAX SCORE	WHAT CHANGED
65-C	1939–1941	72	Partial 15.4/30	65 hp Continental Chief
65-CA	1940–1941	140	Partial 20.2/30	Super Chief: auxiliary tank, deluxe trim
0-58B	1942–1944	132	Partial 15/30	Wartime Grasshopper (L-3B) liaison version

Family fleet, active

344

FAA registry

NTSB events / 1,000, 10 yrs

17.4

6 events over 344 active aircraft, pooled across the family

Successor

Aeronca 11 Chief

Data as of: FAA registry Sep 28 · NTSB Oct 2 · scores Sep 30