Aeronca

In 1998 Lance was asked to be co-administrator for the air show in La Grange. This
couldn't have come at a better time. With his love for flying, and being totally involved
in the air show, he knew that he wanted another plane of his own. He also knew he
wanted something simple. He spoke with the airport manager on a Friday and
mentioned the type of plane that he was interested in purchasing (if it ever came up for
sale). The following Monday the manager called Lance and said that photographs would
be there the next day (from Northern California). The photographs arrived, the price
was right and he sent out a young pilot to bring it back.

Lance started flying in 1964 in Lansing, Michigan. He soloed in Beechcraft Musketeers.
From there he flew an assortment of aircraft and over the years has owned two 172
Skyhawks, a 140 Cherokee, a Piper Vagabond, and a Mooney 21. He presently owns
the Aeronca Champ pictured above.

Due to time limitations and work obligations, Lance sold his 172 in the 1980's. Still
having the desire to be around aircraft, he assisted around the airports and flew with
friends when time would permit.

A problem occurred when the pilot was waiting for the commuter airline. He had a four
hour layover in San Francisco and was catching up on some reading. He didn't realize
that he had dropped the cashier's check until he had checked out the airplane and was
finishing up the transaction at his final destination. The owner wasn't pleased. He was
wondering what kind of scam this man was trying to pull. The pilot called San Francisco
airport and a custodian had found the envelope and turned it in to authorities. The
airline put it on the next flight and the plane was purchased. What was the probability
of a check for this large amount of money being turned in?

It took the pilot 2-1/2 days to fly to Midland, Texas where Lance met him and his new
toy. They completed the preflight and headed the 4 hours back to La Grange. It flew
like a real "champ"!

The Champ was hangared at La Grange for five months while Lance completed his hangar
and airstrip. It finally left for its new home 8 miles away and has been there at the
Thunderbird shop for the past four years.

In 2002, Lance rebuilt the wings (see pics below), installed a new interior, added wing
tips, strobe lights, transponder, wheel pants and vortex generators. All in the name of
safety.

In May of 2002, Lance and a friend embarked on a 2500 mile trip to Ohio and Michigan.
Middletown, Ohio is where the Champ was manufactured and they attended the bi-annual
convention where there were over 70 Aeronca airplanes on display. Many folks admired
Lance's Champ and inquired as to how they could obtain the modifications that Lance had
made.

"The trip was long and a lot of fun", says Lance. "This is not the fastest of airplanes and
most of the Wal-Mart trucks that we could look down on were going faster than we were.
Three hours was about the longest time our 'behinds' could stand the seats. We planned
refueling stops around the discomfort. We were in the air a total of 40 hours and the
Champ didn't miss a beat."

"Since we were limited as to the amount of weight we could carry, we shipped our clothes
to Ohio and Michigan via UPS. Wouldn't you know it...UPS shipped our Ohio 'necessities'
to New York, and we were back from the trip before they arrived. Now everyone has
heard of someone losing their luggage on a plane trip; it may have even happened to you.
But have you ever heard of someone flying their own plane and losing their luggage?"

Click on the Airstrip link and you will get specifics on our 2000' grass strip. We welcome
all to drop in and see our classic showroom, browse, buy a classic car or purchase parts
for their Fords & Thunderbirds.

The "company plane" is an Aeronca Champ 7CCM which was manufactured in 1949 at
Middletown, Ohio. It is a 90 horsepower engine with full electrics. It seats two, with
the passenger sitting directly behind the pilot. It weighs about 700 pounds and can
carry passengers and fuel of about 600 pounds, making a gross flying weight of 1,300
pounds. It takes off in about 500 feet, flies at +/- 90 miles an hour and lands in about
600 feet, all depending on wind speed. The Champ uses about 4.5 gallons of fuel per
hour. With full front and wing tanks it has a flying time of 3.5 hours, again depending
on winds. It has approximately 3,500 total hours of flight time on air frame.

Pic 1 shows damage to wing which was found after the plane was flown to Texas.

Pics 2, 3 and 4 show the damaged wing in various stages of restoration. With Lance's
experience in restoring classic automobile bodies, this was a natural project for him to tackle.

Pic 5 shows the completed wing prior to installation on the plane.

Pic 6 shows the Champ prior to the wing being installed.

Pic 7 shows the Champ restored to it's full glory.