AERONCA CHAMP

摘要

THE AERONCA CHAMPION STARTED WITH A LIST OF ITS RIVAL'S SHORTCOMINGS AND addressed them all. In 1944, designer Ray Hermes considered the iconic Piper J-3 Cub and fixed the many things that pilots didn't like about it. Then he came up with practical improvements in the Champ: The Cub must be flown solo from the rear, so the Champ pilot sits up front. The Cub has awful forward visibility, so the Champ has a wrap-around view. The Cub's main landing gear is held together by springy, failure-prone bungee cords, so the Champ uses oleo struts that act as shock absorbers. The Cub is painfully slow, so the Champ is less so. Aeronca began flooding the market with inexpensive ($2,400) Champs in what was expected to be a post-World War Ⅱ aviation boom. The company produced up to 50 Champs a day at its 1946 production peak, but the market never fully materialized.