N896DS

This article documents the individual airframe N896DS, an American Champion 8GCBC Scout built in 2000 with manufacturer's serial 409-99. The aircraft is owned by a Private individual based in TX, United States and is registered in the US civil register. As a single airframe entry, the history is limited to its build and current ownership; no public record of prior operators or transfers is published in the provided data. The type is maintained in the fixed-wing single-engine category and reflects the two-seat tandem configuration typical of this airframe.

The airframe features a tandem two-seat cabin layout, designated as Tandem 2-seat, which places pilot and passenger fore-and-aft rather than side-by-side and is consistent with the Scout’s utility and observation roles. Although specific avionics fitment for N896DS is not provided, the Scout family typically supports simple, mission-oriented instrument panels suitable for VFR and basic IFR operations; this airframe’s cruise of 113 kts and range of 838 nm suggest capability for modest cross-country hops from its Texas base. Routine operations for this individual aircraft would likely emphasize short-field, low-and-slow utility missions, flight training, and personal transport from its owner’s home base in TX, United States. Maintenance considerations for this airframe center on the Lycoming O-360 series engine commonality and two-seat airframe inspection intervals typical for privately operated fixed-wing single-engine aircraft.

The American Champion 8GCBC Scout occupies a niche as a rugged, light utility aircraft with STOL-oriented handling and simple systems. Competing models in the same performance niche include other small utility taildraggers and STOL-capable light aircraft; demand from owner-operators tends to favor low operating costs, ruggedness, and ease of maintenance. With a single Lycoming O-360-C1G engine and a modest cruise speed, resale considerations for this airframe class emphasize airframe and engine hours, condition, and completeness of maintenance records rather than high cruise performance.