Avia Bellanca Aircraft Co. – Aircraft Involved
Avia Bellanca Aircraft Co. (and its predecessor and successor entities, including the Bellanca Aircraft Corporation and American Champion Aircraft) represents one of the most enduring and innovative lineages in American general aviation. Founded on the engineering vision of Giuseppe Mario Bellanca, the company produced a remarkable range of aircraft from the mid-1920s through the 1970s, spanning single-engine cabin monoplanes, military trainers, endurance record-breakers, and aerobatic champions.
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Historical Note
Giuseppe Mario Bellanca began his aviation career in the early 1910s, establishing himself as a gifted aerodynamicist with a particular talent for efficient, high-lift wing designs. His early collaboration with the Wright Aeronautical Corporation produced the Wright-Bellanca series, which demonstrated exceptional performance and efficiency for their era. The WB-2 Columbia, developed from this lineage, became the first aircraft to complete a non-stop transatlantic flight from New York to Germany in 1927 — just weeks after Lindbergh’s famous crossing.
The Bellanca Aircraft Corporation, established in Delaware in 1927, went on to produce a wide family of cabin monoplanes under the Pacemaker, Skyrocket, and Aircruiser names, serving commercial operators, bush pilots, and military customers throughout the 1930s. The company’s distinctive strut-braced, high-wing designs were renowned for their load-carrying ability and structural efficiency.
Post-war, Bellanca pivoted to the light aircraft market with the Cruisair and Cruisemaster series, before the Viking became the company’s most commercially successful design in the 1960s and 1970s. The aerobatic Citabria and Decathlon lines, developed in partnership with Champion Aircraft, ensured the Bellanca name remained prominent in sport and training aviation well into the modern era.
Aircraft Involved
Use the filter below to explore aircraft by type, or scroll through the full production table.
🔽 Filter by Aircraft Type — Click to expand
- Single engine cabin monoplane: Wright-Bellanca WB-1, WB-2, CH-200 Pacemaker, Model J, CH-300 Pacemaker, CH-400 Skyrocket, J-300/J-3-500, Model D Skyrocket/XRE-3, Model E Pacemaker, Model F-1/F-2 Skyrocket, Model F Skyrocket, 31-40 Senior Pacemaker, 31-50 Senior Skyrocket, 14-7 Cruisair Junior, 14-9 Cruisair, 14-13 Cruisair Senior, 14-19 Cruisemaster, Citabria, 17-30 Viking, Decathlon, Champ, T-250 Aries, Scout, 19-25 Skyrocket II
- Single engine transport / utility monoplane: Model K, Model P series/C-27 Airbus, 66-67 Aircruiser family, Model D Skyrocket/XRE-3, Model E Pacemaker, Model F Skyrocket
- Single engine military monoplane: 28-90 Flash, YO-50
- Single engine endurance monoplane: J-300/J-3-500
- Single engine carrier scout monoplane: XSE-1 & XSE-2
- Single engine scout biplane floatplane: XSOE-1
- Single engine MacRobertson Air Race monoplane: 28-70 Irish Swoop
- Twin engine endurance record sesquiplane: TES Tandem Blue Streak
- Twin engine bomber: 77-140, 77-320 Junior
- Trimotor racing monoplane: 28-92
- Trainer: 14-14/T14-14, 17-20
- Prototype observation monoplane: YO-50
📊 Full Aircraft Production Table — Click to collapse
| Model Name | First Flight | No. Built | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wright-Bellanca WB-1 | 1925 | 1 | Single engine cabin monoplane |
| Wright-Bellanca WB-2 | 1926 | 1 | Single engine cabin monoplane |
| CH-200 Pacemaker | 1928 | 2 | Single engine cabin monoplane |
| Model K | 1928 | 1 | Single engine transport monoplane |
| Model P series, C-27 Airbus | 1928 | 25–30 | Single engine transport monoplane |
| Model J | 1929 | 4 | Single engine cabin monoplane |
| CH-300 Pacemaker | 1929 | ~35 | Single engine cabin monoplane |
| TES Tandem Blue Streak | 1929 | 1 | Twin-engine endurance record sesquiplane |
| CH-400 Skyrocket | 1930 | 32 | Single engine cabin monoplane |
| 66-67 Aircruiser family | 1930 | 23 | Single engine utility monoplane |
| J-300/J-3-500 | 1931 | 5 | Single engine endurance monoplane |
| XSE-1 & XSE-2 | 1932 | 1 | Single engine carrier scout monoplane |
| Model D Skyrocket / XRE-3 | 1932 | 7 | Single engine utility monoplane |
| Model E Pacemaker | 1932 | 7 | Single engine utility monoplane |
| Model F-1, F-2 Skyrocket | 1933 | 2 | Single engine utility monoplane |
| 28-70 Irish Swoop | 1934 | 1 | Single engine MacRobertson Air Race monoplane |
| Model F Skyrocket | 1934 | 3 | Single engine utility monoplane |
| 77-140 | 1934 | 1 | Twin engine bomber |
| 77-320 Junior | 1934 | 4 | Twin engine bomber |
| 31-40 Senior Pacemaker family | 1935 | 10 | Single engine cabin monoplane |
| 31-50 Senior Skyrocket family | 1935 | ~10 | Single engine cabin monoplane |
| XSOE-1 | 1936 | 1 | Single engine scout biplane floatplane |
| 28-90 Flash | 1937 | 43 | Single engine military monoplane |
| 14-7 Cruisair Junior | 1937 | 1 | Single engine cabin monoplane |
| 17-20 | 1937 | — | Monoplane |
| 28-92 | 1938 | 1 | Trimotor racing monoplane |
| 14-9 Cruisair | 1939 | 44 | Single engine cabin monoplane |
| 14-14 / T14-14 | 1940 | 1 | Trainer based on Cruisair |
| YO-50 | 1940 | 3 | Prototype single engine observation monoplane |
| 14-13 Cruisair Senior | 1945 | ~600 | Single engine cabin monoplane |
| Champ | 1946 | 10,000+ | Single engine cabin monoplane |
| 14-19 Cruisemaster | 1949 | 203 | Single engine cabin monoplane |
| Citabria | 1964 | — | Single engine cabin monoplane |
| 17-30 Viking | 1967 | 1,356 | Single engine cabin monoplane |
| Decathlon | 1970 | — | Single engine cabin monoplane |
| T-250 Aries | 1973 | 5 | Single engine cabin monoplane |
| Scout | 1974 | 500+ | Single engine cabin monoplane |
| 19-25 Skyrocket II | 1975 | 1 | Single engine cabin monoplane |
Engineering Norms and Standards
Bellanca aircraft were developed across several distinct regulatory eras:
- CAR 4 / CAR 4a — Civil Air Regulations governing normal and utility category aircraft through the 1930s–1950s
- Military specifications (MIL-SPEC) — applicable to the 28-90 Flash, YO-50, XSE-1/2, XSOE-1, and bomber variants developed for US military evaluation
- FAR Part 23 — the post-1965 FAA airworthiness standard under which the Viking, Citabria, Decathlon, Scout, and Aries were certified
- Bellanca strut-braced wing philosophy — the company’s signature engineering approach used lift-generating interplane struts to achieve exceptional structural efficiency and load-carrying capacity relative to engine power
Format and Delivery
All documentation in this collection is provided as high-resolution digital PDF files, optimised for both screen viewing and printing. Files are delivered via instant download upon purchase and are compatible with all standard PDF readers on desktop and mobile platforms.
Disclaimer
This material is sold for historical and reference purposes only. Documentation reflects the engineering and regulatory standards of the original development period and is not intended for use in current airworthiness, certification, or maintenance activities. This digital compilation, structure, indexing and presentation are © Sicuro Publishing.