Ownership guide
American Champion 7ECA
791 registered in the US, built from about 1964 to 2011, 2 seats, most with the Lycoming O-235. Its Airworthiness Directives, its engines', and what to check before buying one.
The fleet
- Registered in the US
- 791
- Built
- 1964 to 2011
- Half built by
- 1971
- Seats
- 2
- Engine type
- Piston
- Most common engine
- Lycoming O-235
Engines installed
- Lycoming O-235648 aircraft (82%) · 10 ADs, 1 with a repeat action
- Continental O-20092 aircraft (12%) · 8 ADs, 0 with a repeat action
From the FAA aircraft registry, rebuilt daily. Years are those recorded on each registration.
Airworthiness Directives
15 current ADs name the 7ECA airframe, 2 with a repeat action; 2 more were superseded. Its engines carry 18 more. 8 equipment ADs name the model.
The ones that come back
ADs with a repeat action: an inspection or replacement at an interval, for as long as the AD applies. These are the airworthiness costs an owner keeps paying.
- 2009-22-02Requires inspection of the rear seat back hinge areas for cracking and excessive elongation of the rear seat hinge bolt hole and, if cracking or excessive elongation is found, replacement of the rear seat frameAmerican Champion Aircraft Corp. Models 7ECA, 7GCAA, 7GCBC, 7KCAB, 8KCAB, and 8GCBC Airplanes · AirplaneRepeat actionOct 29, 2009
- 2000-25-02 R1American Champion Aircraft Corporation 7, 8, and 11 Series AirplanesAirplaneSupersedes 2000-25-02Repeat actionJun 6, 2001
Accident record
58 accidents since 2008, 7 fatal (11 people killed in them, a midair counting both aircraft), 2 aircraft destroyed.
What happened
- Loss of control on ground16
- Loss of control in flight7
- Nose over/nose down4
- Fuel exhaustion4
- Aerodynamic stall/spin3
- Low altitude operation/event3
Phase of flight
- Landing22
- Takeoff9
- Maneuvering9
- Initial climb8
- Enroute4
The latest
| Date | Where | What happened | Injuries | NTSB number |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-02-04 | St. george, UT | Landing: Loss of control on ground | None | WPR26LA096 |
| 2025-10-07 | East rockingham, NC | Initial climb: Aerodynamic stall/spin | None | ERA26LA008 |
| 2025-07-02 | Wasilla, AK | Landing: Nose over/nose down | None | ANC25LA062 |
| 2025-04-29 | Cottonwood, CA | Takeoff: Collision during takeoff/land | Fatal | WPR25FA145 |
| 2024-08-27 | Sussex, NJ | Enroute: Fuel exhaustion | Minor | ERA24LA359 |
| 2024-07-21 | Beaufort, NC | Enroute: Fuel exhaustion | Serious | ERA24LA311 |
From the NTSB's aviation accident database, refreshed monthly; accidents only, homebuilts left out. Counts, not rates: nobody publishes how many hours each model flies, and a training fleet flies far more than a private one. Look up any case by its number in the NTSB's CAROL.
What it costs to run
Per hour flown
Per year, flown or not
- Fuel
- $0/hr
- Engine reserve
- $0/hr
- A year
- $0
- All in, per hour
- $0/hr
Everything else is yours to fill in: insurance, hangar and overhaul prices vary too much by pilot, airport and shop for a default to mean anything. Nothing you type leaves this page.
Before you buy one
- Run its N-number through the AD check: every AD that names its airframe and engine, as a checklist to take to the logbooks.
- For each repeat-action AD (2 on the airframe), find the last compliance in the logbooks and when the next one is due.
- Compare the engine's time since overhaul with its maker's published overhaul time, and look for the reason behind any long gap in flying.
- 8 equipment ADs name the 7ECA (a muffler, a seat belt, a display): find out which of that equipment is installed.
- Check the registration, the airworthiness certificate and the date of the last annual inspection.
- Work out the sales or use tax your state will charge with the aircraft tax calculator.
Questions
- How many American Champion 7ECAs are registered in the US?
- 791, in the FAA aircraft registry.
- When was the American Champion 7ECA built?
- From about 1964 to 2011. Half of those registered today were built by 1971.
- What engine does the American Champion 7ECA have?
- Most have the Lycoming O-235 (82% of those registered); others have the Continental O-200.
- How many accidents has the American Champion 7ECA had?
- 58 in the NTSB's database since 2008, 7 of them fatal. The most common defining event was loss of control on ground. These are counts, not rates: how many hours the fleet flew is not published.
- How many Airworthiness Directives does the American Champion 7ECA have?
- 15 current ADs name the 7ECA airframe, 2 of them with a repeat action, and 18 more name its engines. Whether each applies to one aircraft depends on its serial number and installed equipment.
Figures from the FAA aircraft registry and the FAA's Airworthiness Directives, rebuilt daily. An AD listed for a model is one to read; whether it applies to one aircraft depends on its serial number, equipment and records.