AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2013 - 56

SPEC SHEET

Xtreme Decathlon
BASE PRICE: $209,900
PRICE AS TESTED: $276,652
SPECIFICATIONS

there for an instant, as if to ask, “Are we
trying to stall on purpose, or trying to
avoid it?” (Answer: On purpose.) Halfway
through the one-turn spin I applied halfopposite rudder, and reaching my original
heading, pushed full opposite rudder and
snapped the stick forward to break the
stall. Stops on a dime. I dispensed with
forming a perfectly vertical down-line,
leveled, and went into the loop a little too
slowly—that is, I didn’t pull hard enough on
the entry. I saw the manifold pressure setting was low, added some power, and went
over the top inverted per the plan, but in
slow flight, which was fun. Will he fall out
of the loop or not? I made it.
Airshow star Greg Koontz, an American
Champion dealer who now uses the Xtreme
Decathlon in his act, was kind enough to fly
the Xtreme seen here for our photo shoot
from his training school’s grass runway in
Ashville, Alabama. (His other act uses a
Cub and features The Alabama Boys comedy routine in which he gets caught riding
an airplane he supposedly can’t fly, but saves
the day by landing on a moving truck.)
After a week with the Xtreme, he had
this reaction: “I feel it is going to take most
Super Decathlon pilots a little while to get
used to the [the Xtreme’s heavier] aileron
break-out forces. They are not too heavy,
just a different feel. It takes a little more
pressure to get the aileron started than to
finish the full travel. I find myself being
jerky on point rolls because as I release the
ailerons, the pressure increases near the
centering. This is still catching me a bit off
guard, resulting in a wobble. For me, keeping energy [during] low-level acro is much
easier. In fact, I am not well adjusted yet
and I find myself with a lot of excess speed
and/or altitude since I have a hard time
resisting being very stingy with energy.”
56 | AOPA PILOT July 2013

Powerplant | 210 hp Lycoming
AEIO-390-A1B6
Recommended TBO | 1,400 hr
Propeller | 2 blade MT, MTV-15-B-C/193-25
Length | 22 ft 11 in
Height | 7 ft 7 in
Wingspan | 30 ft 9 in
Wing area | 164 sq ft
Wing loading | 11.9 lb/sq ft
Power loading | 9.3 lb/hp
Seats | 2
Cabin length | 8 ft 10 in
Cabin width | 2 ft 6 in
Cabin height | 3 ft 11 in
Empty weight | 1,320 lb
Empty weight, as tested | 1,355 lb
Max gross weight | Normal 1,950 lb
(aerobatic 1,800 lb)
Useful load | 630 lb (aerobatic 480 lb)
Useful load, as tested | Normal 595 lb
(aerobatic 445 lb)
Payload w/full fuel | Normal 390 lb
(aerobatic 240 lb)
Payload w/full fuel, as tested | Normal 355 lb
(aerobatic 205 lb)
Fuel capacity, std | 41.5 gal (40 gal usable)
249 lb (240 lb usable)
Inverted fuel | 2 min
Baggage capacity | 100 lb, 10.4 cu ft
PERFORMANCE

Aerobatic limit load | +6, -5
Takeoff distance, ground roll | 520 ft
Takeoff distance over 50-ft obstacle | 957 ft
Max demonstrated crosswind component
| 17 kt
Rate of climb, sea level | 1,498 fpm

You’ll notice the payload with full fuel
(in the specification box above) when flying aerobatics is only 215 pounds. First of
all you wouldn’t fly maneuvers for four
hours, so full fuel is not necessary. Second,
that particular aircraft has the highest
empty weight of the four Xtremes built
so far because of avionics. Others were
closer to 1,330 and 1,340 pounds, while
the one pictured here has an empty weight
of 1,355 pounds. The Pennsylvania owner
stocked the cockpit with an Aspen Avionics
Evolution EFD 1000 Pro primary flight display ($11,500 installed), a Garmin GTN 750

Max level speed, sea level | 161 kt
Cruise speed/endurance w/45-min rsv,
(fuel consumption)
@ 75% power, best economy | 149
mph/2.6 hr
6,000 ft (72 pph/12 gph)
@ 55% power, best economy | 133
mph/4.8 hr
9,000 ft (43 pph/7.2 gph)
Service ceiling | 20,000 ft
Landing distance over 50-ft obstacle |
1,346 ft
Landing distance, ground roll | 542 ft
LIMITING AND RECOMMENDED AIRSPEEDS

VX (best angle of climb) | 57 mph IAS
VY (best rate of climb) | 81 mph IAS
VA (design maneuvering) | 110 mph IAS
VNO (max structural cruising) | 160 mph
CAS
VNE (never exceed) | 200 CAS
VR (rotation) | 58 mph IAS
VSO | 58 mph IAS
FOR MORE INFORMATION

Contact American Champion Aircraft
Corporation, 32032 Washington Avenue
Rochester, Wisconsin 53167; phone
262/534-6315.
All specifications are based on manufacturer’s calculations. All performance
figures are based on standard day, standard atmosphere, sea level, gross weight
conditions unless otherwise noted.
EXTRA

While savings were found to make up for
the extra engine weight, the aircraft is still
heavier in pitch. It comes from tossing that
heavier engine around during aerobatic
maneuvers.

GPS nav/com multifunction display linked
with a Garmin GMA 35 audio panel plus a
Garmin GTX 33 transponder ($30,232 for
all three installed), and a Garmin GDL 88
series ADS-B datalink for weather and traffic ($5,841 installed).
While that aircraft may spend its life
going cross country faster than a Cessna
172, he added a Hooker Harness aerobatic
belt system just in case a loop calls his name
(preferably before the hamburger and milkshake, but you just never know).
AOPA
EMAIL alton.marsh@aopa.org
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2013

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