Any expierence with a Bellanca Super Viking?

[Chick Pilot]

I am thinking of buying an airplane to commute in and have recently discovered the Bellanca Super Viking as a possible choice, does anyone have any expierence with one? I have never flown one, but after doing some research it seems pretty nice. Other airplanes I have been thinking about are the C-177 RG, Piper Arrow, C-182 and would love a C-195 but could never afford to maintain it.

 

[avbug]

They're speedy for small airplanes, and more in the Bonanza class than in the class of the other aircraft you mentioned. I never thought they rode particularly well, I'm sure others would disagree.

Consider your storage, maintenance, and climate for the wooden wing.

 

[YeahRight]

Hey Chick,
You have stumbled upon General Aviation's most incredible secret! There is no more capable airplane out there for the price. Long shunned because of a completely invalid concern about the beautiful and strong wooden wing, they have been the victim of slow demand which means great prices for the buyer.
More on the wing later but consider what you are getting:
As fast as most Bonanzas, Mooneys, C210/C182RG, Piper Commanche 250/260s, Lances
Great service ceiling - low teens or higher for turbo models.
Can haul a huge load with those 300horses, pop you off most any strip in no time.
Great range... get the long range aux tank and some of them will go 6hrs.
Fine on grass and short strips.
Easy to fly. No more complicated than any other complex HP single.
This is a sports car airplane. Speedy, sexy, with fantastic handling (ever sat in the back of a bonanza?), but very pragmatic and capable too.
All this for the price of a 172!!
You can find them for as little as 40-50K (rarely over 100K)!!

Just promise you will do these things and you will NOT regret your purchase:

1. Get a prebuy inspection done to the detail of an annual BY ONE OF THE VIKING GURUS. (Plainview Tx, Alexandria Mn, Witmers in Pa, or the one in Ca.) Most owners understand this and will not balk at the request to move it to one of these places. Annuals at an expert is not necessary every year thereafter but do get the prebuy done there. You are having the wood inspected for water damage and a few other critical things. Once these are done it is EASY to keep it good.

2. Don't buy one unless you have a hangar and then always keep it in the hangar.

3. Fly it regularily, they don't like to sit for months.

4. Keep the envelope in good repair. Don't allow the fabric/finish to become neglected - that is what keeps the elements out.

Don't listen to all the stories of people who claim to 'know' about the BSV! The wing is as strong as the 60 yr old elm in your front yard. It is several times stronger than any of the metal wings out there. The metal wings on your ramp right now have more serious structural corrosion than all the combined wing rot in the entire Bellanca fleet!

 

[RightPedal]

I flew a BV some. Strong, fast, handled very well, solid airplane. I liked it very much.

 

[BD King]

YeahRight, is correct (except for the Bonanza speed). Yeah know, the Viking was demostrated by Bobby Bishop a million years ago, doing airshows. Things like vertical rolls? Huh?

 

[Chick Pilot]

Thanks for the helpful info, now I just have to try and talk my husband into it.

 

[sky37d]

Thanks for the helpful info, now I just have to try and talk my husband into it.

Take him for a ride in it, and he'll be convinced
They are great airplanes. Just make sure you hangar them, and fly them.
Don't neglect the maintenance, but that applies to any airplane.

Oh, and you should talk to Miller Flying Service, at least once. The guy who owned it, at one time, owned Bellanca. There is a year, I think 75, where they make improvements that improved the speed.

 

[FN FAL]

I am thinking of buying an airplane to commute in and have recently discovered the Bellanca Super Viking as a possible choice, does anyone have any expierence with one? I have never flown one, but after doing some research it seems pretty nice. Other airplanes I have been thinking about are the C-177 RG, Piper Arrow, C-182 and would love a C-195 but could never afford to maintain it.

I hear they are fast and noisy inside.

I had a friend that one of those for a day. He got it home after buying it, thinking he had an insurance binder. The next day his buddy grabbed the keys and took a bunch of his relatives up for a plane ride. The engine siezed on departure and the pilot took an off airport landing in the plane. One passenger was injured but they all walked away.

I saw the aircraft and it was basically folded tail to the engine...with it's wings sheared off. Amazing nobody got killed...they must be pretty tough.

As far as the insurance dealio...the guy flying declared bankruptcy and the pilots relative had sued for 20,000 in injuries...leaving the aircraft owner with that bill. The insurance company had to be taken to court as they were declining coverage, but in the end coughed up about 20,000...which only paid the lawyer fees incured by the aircraft owner.

The property owner where the plane crashed also sued the plane owner to recover damages to his property. Then there was the bill the fire department sent him and then it cost money to haul the plane away. My friend the one day airplane owner also got stuck with paying off the mortgage out of pocket with nothing to show for it...plus his dad lended him the down payment.

But as far as crashworthyness...that plane was destroyed and the people walked away. Maybe luck? I can't tell you.

Aviation Consumer will have a write up on your airplane...give them 15 bucks and they will give you the real deal on your aircraft. Everything from resale value to owners comments. That is worth more than 15 bucks if you're serious about buying any airplane and their reports are dead on.

Here is a link to Aviation Consumer...

http://www.aviation-consumer.com/aircraftreview/index_a.html

Yea, I know 15 bucks is a lot of money to waste when you're buying an airplane and that pilots don't want to pay for anything and they want to get paid a million dollars a year, but you will not regret getting the skinny from them.

 

[fastandlow]

I hear they are fast and noisy inside.

don't have any direct experience but a fellow has one where I have a hanger. His normal departure procedure involves a pretty standard takeoff followed by a pass down the runway (easy now, it's a private strip). With 275-300 hp driving that three bladed prop, it sounds and looks like he's flying 300-mph with that thing! IMVHO, regarding apparent performance, it easily outclasses a 177RG, 182, Arrow, etc.

2 cents

 

[Lead Sled]

FWIW...
I've got some time in the Viking. It's a nice flying airplane, but they lack a lot in payload and they're typically not as fast as people think (or the factory claims). It's definately one of those airplanes that you want to do your homework on before you buy. I would highly recommend that you check out www.aviationconsumer.com prior to spending any money on a Viking or any other airplane for that matter. Personally, would I own one? Probably not - the minuses can easily outweigh the pluses if you're not careful.

'Sled

 

[GravityHater]

FWIW...
I've got some time in the Viking. It's a nice flying airplane, but theylack a lot in payload and they're typically not as fast as people think(or the factory claims). It's definately one of those airplanes thatyou want to do your homework on before you buy. I would highlyrecommend that you check out www.aviationconsumer.com prior to spending any money on a Viking or any other airplane for that matter.

Speed: I have been in 150 kt and 190kt Vikings. The newer oneswith all gear doors and cowl flaps, the Globe cowling are faster. The turbo models can produce more hp at altitude and are faster upthere.
Payload: Most of them have 800-1000lbs payload. Beats mostMooneys as I recall and doesn't have the aft cg problem of manybonanzas. Won't be as good as a Commanche 250 though.
Factory Claims: HaHaHa! What factory claim has EVER been accurate, don't bother even bringing that up.
Aviation Consumer: BWAHAHAHA! I think we know what they post ismostly half researched tripe by now. The first leader on the site
http://www.aviationconsumer.com/pub/1_1/usedaircraftguide/4989-1.html
speaks poorly of wood and fabric, how hard it is to get repaired. A) nonsense B) you probably will never have a need to have eitherrepaired anyway.
The mere mention of "Dry Rot" in that article shows how little theyknow of the topic. There is no such thing. Sorry, I meantto say, THERE IS NO SUCH THING!

 

[avbug]

No such thing as dry rot in wooden structures? You surely haven't done much maintenance and repair on wooden structures. That much is clear.

What is commonly called dry rot is generally fungal damage, though other sources are possible, and does require some degree of humidity (to a point; sealed structures or covered structures still experience condensation like any structure, even in very dry climates).

Wooden structures may appear completely sound, including spars. Only after cutting them can one tell the extent of the rot or other damage. Tap tests may not reveal it, ultrasonic or other NDT forms usually won't reveal it, but disecting the part will.

Older structures not bonded using epoxies, but using glues such as aerolite are subject to glue failure. As the brass tacks used to attach parts after gluing provide no structural integrity or strength, failure of the glues, especially resin and formaldihyde based glues, means failure of the joint and the part. With the last incarnation of AC 43.13, the FAA further addressed the shortcomings of what was the traditional aircraft wood glue for half a century; aerolite. Seems over time, we're seeing more and more failures.

Does wood rot and do wooden structures rot? You betcha.

 

[Lead Sled]

The mere mention of "Dry Rot" in that article shows how little theyknow of the topic. There is no such thing. Sorry, I meantto say, THERE IS NO SUCH THING!

What Avbug said. I've spent my share of time rebuilding Waco wings. Yes, Virginia there is dry rot.

'Sled

 

[GravityHater]

Please define Dry Rot.
What do you think causes it? Fungus cannot grow without water.
Fungus is a living organism and needs three things to grow.
1. Air (oxygen)
2. A substrate (something to eat)
3. Moisture (water...H20)

What happens is water gets on wood. The airborne fungal spores landthere, and start growing in the moisture eating the cellulose andlignin etc of the wood structure. Then the moisture dries up and goesaway.
Some months or years later our genius mechanic opens up a dry, powderyor crumbly piece of wood and scratches his head and proclaims, "DryRot!" because he can see no cause for the deteriorated structure butthe deteriorated wood is both rotten... and dry.
Wood does not just disintegrate into powder in dry conditions, it HADto have a fungus in the past and fungus NEEDS water to live. Wood thatis protected from the elements will last 500, a thousand years.

There is no such thing as Dry Rot, remove it from your vocabulary. Itis a misnomer that partly-educated people use. It scares potential woodairplane owners because they think some mysterious force is going toturn their investment into powder overnight.
These people should be more worried about their cracking and corroding spam cans.

 

[lowlycfi]

Have about 20 hours in the Viking 17-30A and I loved every hour. Great instrument platform, drop the gear and approach flaps 1 dot below the glideslope and it comes down on rails. Good short/soft field capability. The overhead trim is a little strange at first, but you get used to it pretty quick. The 300 horses like the 100LL, but reasonable if you pull it back below 65%. Good luck!

 

[zohrab]

For those who have experience in MX or owning a wood wing:
Do you think it is imperative to keep the plane hangared? In my situation, if I were to purchase a Vike, hangars here have a 2 year wait, so I'd have to keep it outside.
Do you think having wing and empennage covers would help ease rot? I'm up in Prescott and it’s pretty dry here, most of the time, (I’m going to regret asking this, but) would rotting even be an issue here?

Take it easy...
ZG

 

[Lead Sled]

Zohrab...
May I suggest that you talk to someone who really knows Bellancas. Personally, I would never make any decisions based on advice that you get from nameless "experts" that hang out on this forum.

Most people who know fabric covered wood airplanes will tell you that a hangar is imperative. Could you get away without having a hangar for a couple of years? Maybe. Would doing so have any lingering effects on the airframe? Who knows, perhaps.

When it comes to Bellancas, there are few people more knowledgable than the folks at Yankee Aviation in Plymouth, MA. I'd get a hold of them and have a long "heart to heart" talk - if you know what I mean.

'Sled

 

[GravityHater]

A hangar is mandatory.
Viking lovers say they will hunt you down and repossess your airplane if you abuse it by leaving it out in the elements.
I agree with the comment of seeking expert advice. You may consider talking to the factory
http://www.bellanca-aircraft.com
or Miller Flying Service, renowned experts on the make:
http://www.aso.com/seller/211/main.htm
or Webers A/C in Alexandria MN, and finally in PA, Tom Witmer's A/C service.
Good luck!

 

[VNugget]

Budd Davisson's Viking Pirep