39th Ornament Series Features Aeronca Champ

Sporty’s, proprietor of the famed pilot shop and steward of the Ohio academy, has released the 39th in its series of Crystal Christmas Ornaments, thereby keeping alive an annual tradition enjoyed by pilots, FBOs, flight-schools and aviation enthusiasts alike. 2023’s ornament features the classic Aeronca Champ—known affectionately by its admirers as the Airknocker.

Produced in large volumes in the late 1940s, the single-engine machine featured a high-fabric-covered-wing and a conventional (tail-dragger) undercarriage. The aircraft, which competed directly with Piper’s mythical J-3 Cub, was plied primarily to flight-instruction and recreational flying.

After the fashion of several mid-twentieth-century light aircraft, the Champ’s fuselage and empennage assemblies were constructed of welded metal tubing. The outer contours of the Champ’s fuselage comprised a combination of wooden formers and longerons covered with doped fabric. The cross-section of the airplane’s metal fuselage truss is triangular—a design feature peculiar to Aeronca and tracing back to the marque’s C-2 design of the 1920s.

The Champ was among the few taildragger airplanes of its day that could be flown solo from the front seat—a characteristic that afforded pilots dramatically improved outside visibility.

Sporty’s custom-etched 2023 Aeronca Champ crystal Christmas ornament is priced at $24.95, includes a bright red ribbon for hanging, and is boxed for gift giving.

Now in its 62nd year, Sporty's has grown from a one-man operation founded by Hal Shevers to the world's largest pilot shop and an iconic general aviation brand. Headquartered at Batavia, Ohio’s Clermont County/Sporty's Airport (I69), Sporty's operations extend to airport management, avionics installation and repair, aircraft maintenance, a residential airport community, aircraft sales, and flight training.

FMI: www.sportys.com