I just bought a brace of Aeroncas, both 1946 models. A 7AC and an 11AC, the Champ well on it's way to being a flyer, the Chief a much bigger project.

Some interesting history surrounding both airplanes. The Champ was originally sent to Canada and belonged to the Ministry of Transportation for quite some time. The log book has many entries recording short flights taken in British Columbia. I'm hoping maybe my Canadian friends might have some info into what they used the little bird for. It was registered as CF-PZB.

The Chief's logs begin in the early 50's and show it was in Alaska back then. It appears to have spent its entire life up here, and lived in Wasilla (my home town) for many years. Even had entries showing a friend of my Dad's going out with the owner looking for moose.

Something I found really neat was that the plane, N3178E, was owned by Ellen Paneok, who was the first Native Alaskan woman to get her pilot license. She flew commercially for many years and unfortunately died of an illness at only 48 years old.

Anyhow, I've got a lot of work cut out for me. I'll post some pics once I get them moved into their new home.

I'm surprised that I haven't heard from anyone in B.C. that remembers the government flying Champs up there...

Nice 9 hour day and a couple hundred miles of driving got both planes home and tucked in the garage.






The Champ is in magnificent shape. Originally tore down almost 20 years ago for a "quick recover".



The little Chief is going to take a lot of work. A couple tubes will need replaced in the fuselage and the wings will require a complete rebuild.



The Champ will obviously be the first to finish as it's almost ready for fabric. The goal is light, light, light.

Keep up the momentum while the enthusiasm is fresh!

Zzz wrote:Keep up the momentum while the enthusiasm is fresh!

I hear ya! Me and two of my buddies are all doing projects right now so we will feed off each other’s energy. Today I just hung out and worked on a Bushmaster.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

So cool

Love the Aeronca's. I have my dad's Champ he bought in 1961. I soloed it in 1971. My only problem now is I'm old and my only son is not the least bit interested in flying or aviation in general. Someday the family heirloom will be sold but not for now. Over the years my dad had many Aeronca's , two different Citabria's and two Decathlon's but we always hung on to the first one. He was a hardcore Champion guy for sure. Chief's are nice flyers too. Thanks for showing us your projects.

Wow, very cool, keep us posted.

Kurt

These a local guy here that's been "upgrading" Chiefs with a bigger motor and a full electrical systems and the performance is very nice

Mapleflt wrote:These a local guy here that's been "upgrading" Chiefs with a bigger motor and a full electrical systems and the performance is very nice

I'm kicking that about. I've got a low time A-75-8 hanging on the Champ that I'm considering moving to the Chief and hunting up the original McDowell starter for it. The goal for this plane is a custom restoration that I'll fly to Oshkosh as a post retirement celebration in 2025. Of course every plan will change until it's bolted or welded in place.

The plan as of today is a C-85 or C-90 on the Champ with electrics. Staying below 100hp will avoid the big annual wing inspection. Big motors are cool but I want to keep the plane under 800 lbs. I will cover it in Oratex.

Got my CDs from the FAA on the planes yesterday, and found some more history on the Chief. The plane was also owned by Robert "Bobby" Sholton and his wife Rita. Bobby was the founder of Northern Air Cargo. With a little searching I found this picture of Rita with a Chief, will try to find out if it's my plane back in the day.

EDITED: contacted her daughter in law today and she thinks this is a different Chief. The picture was taken in Salmon, Idaho.