Bellanca 14(17) • wp.archivoaereo.com

In the late 1930s, Bellanca Aircraft Corporation embarked on creating a two-to-three-seater light aircraft. The result was a cantilever low-wing monoplane featuring wood-steel construction with fabric-plywood skin. Notable innovations included a load-bearing fuselage and, for the first time among American series-produced light aircraft, retractable landing gear.

The prototype, the Bellanca Model 14 Junior, specifically the Model 14-7, first flew in December 1937. This early version still featured non-retractable landing gear and was powered by a 70 hp (52 kW) Le Blond 5E radial engine.

By 1939, the Model 14-9 emerged as the first production variant, now incorporating retractable landing gear. It was equipped with 90 hp (67 kW) Ken Royce (later Le Blond) 5F or Ken Royce 56 radial engines. Approximately 40 of these aircraft were built, alongside a small number of Model 14-9L Cruisair Junior (1941), Model 14-10, and Model 14-14 aircraft, which primarily differed in their powerplants.

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Early Developments and Production Variants

Bellanca engineers then developed the Model 14-12 Cruisair, building upon the Model 14 Junior design with a different powerplant. The first model to enter large-scale production was the 3-4-seater Model 14-12-F3 Cruisair, introduced in 1941 and powered by a 120 hp (90 kW) Franklin 6AC-264-F3 piston engine driving a W74CF-57 propeller from SensenichWood Propeller Co.

After the end of World War II, Bellanca continued the production of the Model 14 aircraft, now as the Model 14-13 Senior Cruisair, equipped with a 150 hp (112 kW) Franklin 6A4-150-B3 engine. Further developments of the Model 14-13 included the Model 14-13-2 (1948), the improved Model 14-13-3 (1949), and the multi-purpose Model 14-13-3W.

Evolution and Changes in Ownership

Various companies continued to produce aircraft of this family over an extended period, known as the Model 14-9 Junior, Model 14-13 Cruisair Senior, and eventually the Model 14-19 Cruisemaster. In January 1959, Bellanca Aircraft Corporation sold all rights to the Model 14-19 to Northern Aircraft Inc., which later reorganized as Downer Aircraft Company Inc. Downer managed to produce over a hundred modified Cruisemaster aircraft, including a tricycle landing gear variant with a 260 hp Continental engine, before production shifted to the Downer Bellanca 260 model.

Following this, Inter-Air took over the production of this aircraft type, and its designation changed again to Model 14-19-3A. It was during this period that the final variant of the aircraft, the Model 17 Viking, emerged.

The Enduring Legacy of the Viking

By 1967, Inter-Air had transformed into Bellanca Sales Company and developed the improved Bellanca 260C Model 14-19-3C. Simultaneously, the Viking 300 aircraft was introduced, combining the 260C airframe with a 300 hp (224 kW) Continental engine. This model was produced by Bellanca Aircraft Corporation until 1980, with a total of 1670 Viking aircraft assembled across several modifications: the Model 17-30A Super Viking 300A with a Continental engine, the Model 17-31A Super Viking 300A with an Avco Lycoming engine, and the Model 17-31 ATC Turbo Viking 300A with a turbocharged Lycoming engine.

In 1982, Viking Aviation acquired Bellanca’s remaining assets and subsequently changed its name to Bellanca Inc. From 1983, it produced limited quantities of the Viking family aircraft. In 2002, all company assets were purchased by the company’s management and a group of former employees, who organized Alexandria Aircraft LLC with the goal of resuming series production of the Viking family aircraft.

Technical Specifications

Modification	Bellanca 17-31A
Wingspan, m	10. 41
Length, m	8.03
Height, m	2.24
Wing area, m2	15. 00
Empty weight	1014
Maximum takeoff weight	1508
Engine type	1 Piston engine Lycoming IO-540-K1E5
Power, hp	1 х 300
Maximum speed, km/h	364
Cruising speed, km/h	311
Practical range, km	1340
Service ceiling, m	5180
Crew, crew members	1
Payload	3 passengers