Aeronca N82782
Added 5/4/07, Updated 12/11/12

This was my first Aeronca.  Before buying my Stinson, I owned N82782, an Aeronca 7BCM, from 1984 to 1986.  With 85 HP, it was a good performer. It was my first airplane.  Sadly, it was involved in a fatal accident in March of 1988 in Bishopville, South Carolina.  There has been no FAA registration activity on the Champ since 1988 when it was reported sold.  My hope is that some of the surviving parts from N82782 may be keeping another Aeronca in the air.  Does anyone know what became of N82782?  If so, please send me an e-mail.

In 2007, I learned that my Champ had once been flown frequently by Bill Barsi, one of the members of EAA Chapter 524, back in the mid-1970's.  At the time, N82782 was owned by the University of the District of Columbia, and was restored by the students and faculty of the Aviation Maintenance Technology Program that was based at Washington National Airport.  The photos above, taken at Washington National, were provided by Bill, who was an instructor at the school.   Imagine, a Champ with no radios or electrical system at Washington National, where General Aviation is now essentially banned.  Notice the airliner behind the Champ.  It is a Convair 580 that was operated by Allegheny Airlines.  Allegheny retired its last Convair 580 in 1978, so this photo was most likely taken some time before then.

Proud young owners and their first airplane.  As a student pilot, my wife Sukey did her solo cross country flights in our Champ, after soloing in a J-3 Cub.  This photo was taken in 1984 at Easton, Maryland.

What a girl!  Sukey checks that the brakes are set before hand propping the 85 HP Continental.  This photo was taken in 1984 at College Park Airport, just outside of Washington, DC.  College Park is the oldest continuously operating airport in the world. The Wright Brothers flew there.  College Park is now one of "DC-3" airports that suffers under onerous security restrictions.  Only based pilots who have been fingerprinted and gone through security background checks may land there, and then only after following very cumbersome ATC procedures. 

What a girl!  Daughter Joanna, age 6 months, contemplates the control stick of the Champ.  Photo taken at Davis Airport, Laytonsville, Maryland, in August of 1986.  Shortly thereafter, we sold the Champ to buy a Stinson with room for the new family addition.  Davis Airport activity has declined significantly under Washington ADIZ restrictions.  Joanna has now graduated from college and is a fashion designer and illustrator in New York City.

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