Each day, the team at Aircraft For Sale picks an airplane that catches our attention because it is unique, represents a good deal, or has other interesting qualities. You can read Aircraft For Sale: Today’s Top Pick at FLYINGMag.com daily.
Today’s Top Pick is a 1976 Bellanca 17-31ATC Viking.
The Bellanca Viking and Super Viking are rare when compared with competing four-place, high-performance retractables like the Beechcraft Bonanza and Piper PA-24 Comanche. Quite a few have arrived on the market lately, though, and it’s difficult to pass up a discussion about this interesting, charismatic bird.
The Viking traces its roots to the Bellanca Cruiseair of the late 1930s and the larger Cruisemaster that flew a decade later. Both were developed by the innovative designer Giuseppe Mario Bellanca, who pioneered a number of practical, pivotal features in civil aviation including fully enclosed fuselages and retractable landing gear.
The Viking debuted in 1967 and continued to use a fabric-covered fuselage and plywood-skinned wing like its early predecessors. Such features, along with its strut-braced horizontal stabilizer, led some to regard the design as out of date. Pilots who fly the model today, however, will tell you how fast and efficient it is when compared with certain all-metal competitors.
The aircraft for sale today features the bonus of turbocharging, which allows it to maintain higher power levels than non-turbo models at high altitudes. The feature gives pilots more options when picking cruising altitudes when traveling and also helps trim time from long trips by enabling pilots to mode easily find favorable winds aloft.
This 1976 turbo Viking has 3,096 hours on the airframe, 1,221 hours since overhaul on its Lycoming TIO-540 engine, and 407 hours since overhaul on its Hartzell propeller. The aircraft is equipped with an oxygen system and storage space for skis. Its useful load is 839 pounds.
The panel Avionics include a King KMA 20 audio panel, Apollo II Morrow GPS, dual Bendix King KX 155 nav/com radios, Bendix King KN 04 nav, KT 76 transponder, JPI EDM 800 engine monitor, Davtron chronometer, and Century III autopilot.
Pilots looking for a fast, economical, and eye-catching four-place cross-country traveler should consider this 1976 Bellanca 17-31ATC Viking, which is available for $89,900 on AircraftForSale.
If you’re interested in financing, you can do so with FLYING Finance. Use our airplane loan calculator to calculate your estimated monthly payments. Or, to speak with an aviation finance specialist, visit flyingfinance.com.
- FLYING Magazine: Challenging Common Aircraft Buying Tips
- Plane & Pilot: Bellanca Super Viking
- Plane & Pilot: Bellanca Viking: Wood, Fabric & Genius
- Plane & Pilot: Bellanca 300 Viking
- AVweb: Bellanca Viking
- The Aviation Consumer: Bellanca Viking
- The Aviation Consumer: Used Aircraft Guide: Bellanca Viking
