Aeronca Sedan

Flight Journal, Apr 2003 by Jones, Geoffrey P

In 1947, the Aeronca 15AC Sedan design was the Aeronautical Corp. of America's last valiant attempt to stay in business. The four-seat aircraft was also the company's largest; previous designs were mostly two-seaters, with the exception of very early "bathtub" Aeroncas, which were single-seaters. At the time, Raymond F. Hermes was the Aeronca's chief engineer and Leon Wolfe was the Sedan's project engineer.

The Aeronca 15AC Sedan N1264H (S/N 276) featured here-The Mistress-was built in 1948 and is owned by Wilbur Heath, who bought it in 1981 and keeps it near his home at Cottage Grove Airport in central Oregon.

Equipped with floats, the Sedan was flown mostly in Alaska until it was involved in an accident on Lake Hood. Then it was moved from Alaska to Prosser in Washington State. Then Heath bought it, and by 1984, it had accumulated a total flight time of 2,270 hours, at which point Heath decided to swap the 145hp Continental engine for a 160hp Lycoming 0-360. To do so, he had to replace the engine cowl with one from a Piper Cherokee 180.

Heath and his wife, Catherine, flew the Sedan all over the western U.S, and by the late 1990s, it was showing signs of wear both inside and out. In October 1999, Heath decided to have it refurbished and rebuilt by fabric-covering expert Dave Adams in Elmira (west of Eugene, Oregon). On May 2, 2001, N1264H flew again at Cottage Grove and now flies regularly over the hills of Oregon; in September 2002, Heath flew it to Sun Valley, Idaho, for a vacation.

Heath is often asked the value of his Aeronca Sedan, but he never answers because it most certainly isn't for sale!