American Champion Decathlon

{{short description|Two-seat fixed conventional gear aerobatic light airplane}} {{more footnotes needed|article|date=October 2008}}  {{Infobox aircraft |name= 8KCAB Decathlon |image= File:Decathlon FUNB.jpg |caption= |type= Sports plane and aerobatic trainer |manufacturer= American Champion Aircraft |designer= Champion Aircraft Corporation |first_flight= |introduction= 1972 |retired= |status= |primary_user= |more_users= |produced= |number_built= Over 6,000<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.airliners.net/aircraft-data/stats.main?id=34 |title=American Champion & Bellanca series |publisher=Airliners.net |access-date=2012-07-24}}</ref> |variants= }}

The '''American Champion 8KCAB Decathlon''' and '''Super Decathlon''' are two-seat fixed conventional gear light airplanes designed for flight training and personal use and capable of sustaining aerobatic stresses between +6g and −5''g''. The Decathlon entered production in the United States in 1970 as a more powerful and stronger complement to the American Champion Citabria line of aircraft.

The Decathlon was designed by the Champion Aircraft Corporation, and is a derivative of the 7-series Citabrias. While the Citabria designs remain successful, and the introduction of the 7KCAB variant of the Citabria had added limited inverted flight capability, the Citabrias are not capable of "outside" maneuvers, those requiring significant negative-g loads. Pilots wanted an aircraft capable of more maneuvers, and Champion introduced the 8KCAB Decathlon in response to this demand.

==Development== The Decathlon entered production at Champion in 1972, immediately before the company was acquired by Bellanca Aircraft Corporation, so only a handful were produced by Champion. Bellanca continued production of the Decathlon throughout the 1970s, moving to the Super Decathlon variant during 1976. Bellanca built over 600 of the 8KCAB design before production of the aircraft was interrupted when the company's assets were liquidated in 1981.

The Decathlon design passed through the hands of a number of companies through the 1980s, including a Champion Aircraft Company which was no relation to the Champion Aircraft of the 1960s, but no Decathlons were built in that period. American Champion Aircraft Corporation acquired the Decathlon design, along with the 8GCBC Scout and the group of Citabria and Champ variants, in 1990, bringing the Super Decathlon version back into production that same year. It is still being produced.

==Design== thumb|8KCAB Super Decathlon, built 2005

The Decathlon traces its lineage back to the Aeronca Champ, by way of the Citabria. Like the Citabria, the Decathlon features tandem seating and center-stick controls. The fuselage and tail surfaces are constructed of welded metal tubing. The outer shape of the fuselage is created by a combination of wooden formers and longerons, covered with fabric. The cross-section of the metal fuselage truss is triangular, a design feature which can be traced back to the earliest Aeronca C-2 design of the late 1920s.

The strut-braced wings of the Decathlon are, like the fuselage and tail surfaces, fabric covered, using aluminum alloy ribs. The wings of Champion and Bellanca Decathlons were built with wooden spars. American Champion has been using aluminum spars in the aircraft it has produced and has made the aluminum-spar wings available for retrofit installation on older aircraft. Compared to the Citabria's wingspan of {{convert|33.5|ft|m}}, the Decathlon's wingspan is shorter, at {{convert|32|ft|m}}. One of the major developments of the 8KCAB Decathlon over the 7KCAB Citabria is the Decathlon's wing, which employs a semi-symmetrical NACA 1412 airfoil,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.planeandpilotmag.com/article/the-new-super-decathlon/ | title=The New Super Decathlon | date=April 2004 }}</ref> as opposed to the Citabria's flat-bottomed airfoil. This change gives the Decathlon better inverted flight and negative-g maneuver capabilities.

The landing gear of the Decathlon is in a conventional arrangement. The main gear legs of most Decathlons are made of spring steel, though American Champion began to use aluminum gear legs in 2004.

Like the 7KCAB, the engine of the 8KCAB has a fuel injection system, as opposed to a carburetor. To facilitate negative-g flight, the fuel system incorporates a 1.5 gallon header tank beneath the instrument panel, and the engine is fitted with a Christen Industries inverted oil system.

Champion and Bellanca built the Decathlon with several Lycoming IO-320 engine variants, all of {{convert|150|hp}}, and with the choice of a fixed-pitch or constant speed propeller. The major improvement in Bellanca's introduction of the Super Decathlon was the change of engine to the Lycoming AEIO-360-H1A or –H1B, both of {{convert|180|hp}}, which was accompanied by a selection of constant speed propellers. The American Champion Super Decathlon uses the AEIO-360-H1B, along with a constant speed propeller.

==Operational history== Though the Decathlon went out of production within a decade of its introduction, this was not due to any fault in the design, but rather to the slump in general aviation in the United States at the end of the 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s. Since its reintroduction, the Super Decathlon has sold steadily. Decathlons and Super Decathlons remain popular as aerobatic trainers, as beginning and intermediate aerobatic aircraft, and as personal aircraft.

===Famous people=== Steve Fossett was flying a Bellanca-built Super Decathlon when he went missing on September 3, 2007.<ref>[https://www.check-six.com/lib/Famous_Missing/Fossett.htm Missing - Steve Fossett] from Check-Six.com</ref> He took off from an airstrip at William Barron Hilton's Flying-M Ranch, about {{convert|70|mi|km}} southeast of Reno, Nevada. Remains of the plane were found 13 months later near the town of Mammoth Lakes, California, just south of the original search area.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7647732.stm Wreck confirmed as Fossett plane], an October 2008 BBC News article</ref>

James May, a presenter on ''The Grand Tour'' owned an 8KCAB Decathlon with the registration G-OCOK, in reference to his catch-phrase on the television series ''Top Gear''.<ref>[http://www.abpic.co.uk/photo/1133855/ Photo of James May with his 8KCAB Decathlon]</ref>

==Variants== thumb|Bellanca 8KCAB Decathlon thumb|American Champion Xtreme thumb|right|American Champion Xtreme

;Champion Model 8KCAB Decathlon: Original designation. ;Bellanca Decathlon: Two-seat light cabin aircraft, powered by a 112-kW (150-hp) Lycoming AEIO-320-E1B piston engine. ;Bellanca Decathlon CS: Two-seat light cabin aircraft, powered by a 112-kW (150-hp) Lycoming AEIO-320-E1B piston engine, fitted with a constant-speed propeller. ;Bellanca Super Decathlon: thumb|A Super Decathlon at display during FIDAE2024Two-seat light cabin aircraft, powered by a 134-kW (180-hp) Lycoming AEIO-360-H1A or -H1B piston engine, fitted with a constant speed propeller. ;American Champion Xtreme :Model introduced in 2012, powered by a {{convert|210|hp|kW|0|abbr=on}} Lycoming AEIO-390-A1B6 engine driving an MT-Propeller {{convert|76|in|m|1|abbr=on}} propeller. This model also has redesigned longer main landing gear legs to accommodate the longer propeller, a new airfoil-section tailplane with 10% larger area, clipped wingtips and greater aileron effectiveness.<ref name="Grady22Jul12">{{cite news|url = http://www.avweb.com/news/airventure/EAAAirVenture2012_DecathlonAddsLycomingForXtremeAerobat_207020-1.html|title = Decathlon Adds Lycoming For "Xtreme" Aerobat|access-date = 24 July 2012|last = Grady|first = Mary|date = 22 July 2012| work = AVweb}}</ref>

==Specifications (8KCAB Super Decathlon)== {{Aircraft specs |ref=Manufacturer<ref name="Specs">{{cite web|url = http://www.americanchampionaircraft.com/super-decathlon.html|title = Super Decathlon Model 8KCAB Specifications|access-date = 6 October 2017|last = American Champion Aircraft|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812215040mp_/http://www.amerchampionaircraft.com/NewSite2013/NewAircraft/Decathlon/SuperDSpecs.html |archive-date=12 August 2014}}</ref> |prime units?=imp  |genhide=

|crew=one |capacity=one passenger |length m= |length ft=22.9 |length in= |length note= |span m= |span ft=32 |span in= |span note= |height m= |height ft=7.7 |height in= |height note= |wing area sqm= |wing area sqft=169.1 |wing area note= |aspect ratio= |airfoil= |empty weight kg= |empty weight lb=1340 |empty weight note= |gross weight kg= |gross weight lb=1950 |gross weight note=(normal category) |fuel capacity={{convert|40|u.s.gal}} |more general=  |eng1 number=1 |eng1 name=Lycoming AEIO-360-H1B |eng1 type=four cylinder horizontally-opposed aircraft engine |eng1 kw= |eng1 hp=180

|perfhide=

|max speed kmh= |max speed mph=155 |max speed kts= |max speed note=at sea level |cruise speed kmh= |cruise speed mph=141 |cruise speed kts= |cruise speed note= |stall speed kmh= |stall speed mph=53 |stall speed kts= |stall speed note=(clean) |never exceed speed kmh= |never exceed speed mph=200 |never exceed speed kts= |never exceed speed note= |range km= |range miles= |range nmi= |range note= |endurance=3.4 hours at 75% power |ceiling m= |ceiling ft=15800 |ceiling note= |g limits=+6/-5 |roll rate= |glide ratio= |climb rate ms= |climb rate ftmin=1280 |climb rate note= |time to altitude= |lift to drag= |wing loading kg/m2= |wing loading lb/sqft=10.64 |wing loading note= |fuel consumption kg/km= |fuel consumption lb/mi= |power/mass=10 lb/hp |thrust/weight= |more performance= |avionics= }}

==See also== {{aircontent |related= * American Champion Citabria * American Champion Scout |similar aircraft= |lists= |see also=}}

==References==

===Notes=== {{reflist}}

===Bibliography=== {{refbegin}} *{{cite web | url=http://aerofiles.com/_al.html | title=American airplanes: Al - av | work=Aerofiles: A Century of American Aviation | access-date=2006-08-12 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060815075607/http://aerofiles.com/_al.html| archive-date= 15 August 2006 | url-status= live}} *{{cite web | url=http://aerofiles.com/_ca.html | title=American airplanes: Ca - ci | work=Aerofiles: A Century of American Aviation | access-date=2006-08-12 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060823142142/http://aerofiles.com/_ca.html| archive-date= 23 August 2006 | url-status= live}} *{{cite web | url=http://aerofiles.com/_bella.html | title=Bellanca | work=Aerofiles: A Century of American Aviation | access-date=2006-08-12 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060720235706/http://www.aerofiles.com/_bella.html| archive-date= 20 July 2006 | url-status= live}} *''Type certificate data sheet no. A21CE.'' Revision 13. (Oct. 14, 2004.) Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration. {{refend}}

==External links== {{commons category}}

Decathlon Category:1970s United States sport aircraft Category:1970s United States civil trainer aircraft Decathlon Decathlon Category:Aerobatic aircraft Category:Single-engined tractor aircraft Category:High-wing aircraft Category:Aircraft first flown in 1970 Category:Glider tugs Category:Aircraft with fixed conventional landing gear Category:Single-engined piston aircraft