The grand prize winner of the Dakota Territory Air Museum‘s 28th annual sweepstakes will have the choice of flying home in a 1947 Aeronca Champion or stuffing their wallet with $25,000. The winner will be selected Aug. 17, 2024.
For those interested in the airplane, it has 2,871 hours total time and the C-85 engine has 612 hours since major overhaul. A major refurbishment was completed in 2016 that include fuselage and tail recovering, paint, new cables, torque tubes, interior, and more.
If the Aeronca looks familiar, that’s because the museum bought the plane back from the 2019 Grand Prize Winner.
The museum will also give away 25 leather bomber jackets as part of the sweepstakes. On April 5 the museum started giving away one bomber jacket per week from among the sweepstakes ticket holders.
Just 2,500 tickets will be sold at $100 each. To learn more or buy a ticket, visit the Dakota Territory Air Museum website or call 701-8520-8500.
A Champ provided this young awestruck passenger a first flight during a penny-a-pound fundraiser conducted in the fight to conquer polio. My fee totaled less than a buck. Later, I worked at that FBO and soloed a 172 at 15 before earning a BSAE at KU. Thank you Champ.