Bellanca 17-30A Super Viking

This page describes the Model 17-30 / "17-30A Super Viking" — re-sourced and re-scoped 2026-09-12. FAA Aircraft Specification 1A3 (the actual type certificate) covers seven models across two different airplanes: the 14-19-series Cruisemaster (a different airframe entirely) and the Viking proper, which is Sections V-VII — Model 17-30, Model 17-31TC and Model 17-31. There is no separate certificate section for "17-30A", "17-31A" or "17-31ATC"; those are Bellanca's marketing names for the 3,200 lb, kit-equipped ("NOTE 4") version of the base 17-30/17-31/17-31TC. See Performance Notes for what the certificate actually says these airplanes weigh, and Variants for a certificate-sourced correction to how big the Lycoming-powered fleet really is.

The Bellanca Viking is the fastest fixed-gear... err, retractable-gear... piston single per horsepower you can buy on a working-man's budget. Descended from Giuseppe Bellanca's 1930s Cruisair/Cruisemaster bloodline, the Model 17 Viking made its debut in 1967 as the 17-30 and remained in production (with gaps) through 1980, with a handful of custom-order airframes built afterward. Total Viking production is widely reported elsewhere as approximately 1,356 airframes, with the bulk built between 1968 and 1975 during the peak years of Bellanca Aircraft Corporation and its successor entities — including the 1970 merger with Champion Aircraft, later Bellanca Aircraft Engineering, and finally Viking Aviation (history confirmed independently by the active Bellanca-Champion Club, 2026-09-12). No document read this session could confirm the 1,356 figure or its model breakdown against the certificate's own much smaller serial counts — see Variants. The company went bankrupt in 1980, briefly revived in 1984, and built only nine aircraft in 1984-1985 before going quiet again.

What makes a Viking a Viking is its construction: a spruce-spar, plywood-skinned wing covered in fabric, mated to a welded 4130 steel-tube fuselage also skinned in fabric over formers. It is unmistakably an airplane from an earlier era of craftsmanship, and it flies like something a pilot designed rather than a committee. Handling is famously crisp — the ailerons are light and effective, and the airplane is a genuine pilot's machine.

Viking owners are a self-selecting tribe. They tend to hangar their airplanes religiously, know the four or five shops in the country that truly understand wood-and-fabric maintenance, and accept that their airframe is not something a random A&P can bid on. In return they get an airplane that is cheap to buy, drips ramp presence, and cruises with airplanes that cost twice as much. The Viking's reputation for being "cheap to buy, expensive to own" is earned but overstated — properly stored examples are no more expensive to maintain than any other 300 HP retractable, and the depressed purchase price often reflects market prejudice against wood and fabric rather than actual condition.

A certificate-sourced correction, 2026-09-12. TCDS 1A3 Revision 40 lists an "eligible serials" range for each Viking section: Model 17-30 (Continental IO-520) covers 261 airframes (30001 thru 30262, less one excluded); Model 17-31 (Lycoming IO-540) covers only 14 (32-1 thru 32-14); Model 17-31TC (turbocharged Lycoming) covers only 3 (31001 thru 31003). That makes the Continental-engined 17-30 94% of the certificate's own Viking-family serial count, not a co-equal "parallel production" alongside a Lycoming line — the table below now carries those counts rather than the "most numerous variant" / "parallel production" language a prior pass used with no citation. Two explanations are possible and this page does not resolve which: either later Lycoming-powered production continued without the FAA ever amending this serial field in a later revision, or the "17-31A" aircraft the market discusses are not actually on this certificate. See raw/tcds/cert-viking-1a3-rev40-2026-09-12.md for the full reasoning.

Gross weight is also corrected. The certificate states exactly two Viking weights — 3,000 lb base and 3,200 lb with Bellanca Kit SK-1024 installed (its own NOTE 4, available to every 17-30/17-31/17-31TC serial, adoption rate on any individual airframe unknown from the certificate alone). 3,325 lb, given by Jane's 1976-77 and by this page before this pass, appears nowhere in TCDS 1A3. The table below uses the certificate's 3,200 lb ceiling for the "A"/Super Viking configuration and 3,000 lb for the un-kitted base airplane.

Re-sourced 2026-09-12 — read this before the numbers below. TCDS 1A3 (the actual certificate) gives weights, fuel and airspeed limits for the 17-30 — it publishes no cruise, range, burn, climb or runway performance at all, which is normal for a CAR-3-era Aircraft Specification sheet. No Bellanca 17-30/17-31 Pilot's Operating Handbook could be located this session (searched: every major search engine — all bot-blocked or non-functional this session; Internet Archive full-text and URL index — nothing; avialogs.com — site down; the Bellanca-Champion Club, an active, real type club confirmed live 2026-09-12 — no downloadable manual on its public pages). The one fallback source found is Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1976-77 (via Wikipedia), explicitly headed "1976 17-30A Super Viking 300A" — the same configuration this page describes. See raw/press/wiki-janes-viking-2026-09-12.md for the full search log.

• Cruise: 163 KTAS (188 mph) — Jane's states this is TAS at 75% power, maximum cruise, one of the few fallback figures in this catalogue with a stated power setting. No altitude is given. Real-world owner reports of 170-175 KTAS running lean-of-peak at higher altitudes are plausible for this airframe but are not sourced to any document this session and are not stored as a frontmatter figure.
• Range and fuel burn are BLANK, not estimated. Jane's does give a range (802 nm at max fuel) but runbook rule 29 categorically excludes range from secondary-source filling regardless of source count, and its exact match to this page's OLD uncited 802 nm figure is itself evidence that the earlier pass copied this infobox without saying so. Fuel burn has no source at all — a 16 GPH figure appears on AeroGurus listings for this airframe but repeats identically across a normally-aspirated 17-30 and a turbocharged 17-31ATC, which is not physically possible, so it is treated as templated marketing copy and rejected (see raw/market/listings-viking-marketband-2026-09-12.md). The prior 15.5 GPH had no citation and is dropped. Do not plan a trip's fuel or range from either number.
• Climb: 1,170 FPM at gross, sea level (Jane's) — close to, but not identical to, the 1,210 this page stored uncited before this pass.
• Stall speed: Jane's gives 61 kt (70 mph), stated as CAS, "wheels and flaps down" — stored as vs0_kias: 61, correcting the prior uncited 57. No source states Vs1 (clean stall), Vx, Vy or best glide; all are blank with a validator_exempt reason rather than repeating the prior pass's uncited 66/65/96/90 KIAS.
• Takeoff and landing distances are BLANK. Jane's gives "takeoff run to 50 ft: 1,420 ft" and "landing run from 50 ft: 1,340 ft" — again exact matches to this page's prior uncited figures, and again not usable per rule 29's blanket ban on secondary-sourced runway distances. No certificate performance exists to check them against either.
• Wing loading, for context rather than as a stored field: 161.5 sq ft wing area (Jane's) against a 3,200 lb Super Viking gross is 19.8 lb/sq ft — a genuinely small wing for the weight, which is why owners describe the airplane as unforgiving of airspeed decay on final. Most Viking instructors recommend flying final around 80 KIAS and flaring at Vs0 + a margin.

What the certificate itself adds, precisely because it is the certificate (Model 17-30): Vne 197 KIAS, Vno (max structural cruising) 165 KIAS, Va (maneuvering) 123 KIAS — all stated by the certificate as CAS, not IAS (Section V's heading is "Airspeed limits ... CAS"), stored as the bracketed knots per runbook rule 24 rather than converted, since no calibration table exists to do that safely. Flaps-extended limit is 104 KIAS; gear-extended limit is 145 KIAS; gear-operation limit is 122 KIAS — none of these three are stored fields but belong in any checkout or pre-buy discussion. Takeoff power is time-limited: 300 hp at 2,850 rpm for 5 minutes maximum, dropping to 285 hp at 2,700 rpm for continuous operation — a detail worth knowing before assuming 300 hp is available all the way to cruise.

A disagreement worth restating plainly: the certificate's maximum Viking weight, with the gross-weight kit installed, is 3,200 lb. Jane's 1976-77 and this page (before 2026-09-12) both said 3,325 lb. That number does not appear in TCDS 1A3 Revision 40 at any weight, for any model. The certificate wins; do not plan a loading around 3,325 lb.

Weights corrected 2026-09-12 — TCDS 1A3 NOTE 4 for gross weight (3,200 lb with Bellanca Kit SK-1024, NOT the 3,325 lb this page and outside sources previously used, which does not appear in the certificate at any weight); Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1976-77 for empty weight (2,217 lb, single-sourced — see Performance Notes). Useful load is 983 lb, down from the 1,108 lb this page stored before the gross-weight correction. Standard usable fuel per the certificate is 58 gallons (348 lb), not the 75 gallons this page previously assumed; the optional outboard wing tanks (TCDS Item 113, +34 gal) bring a so-equipped airplane to 92 gallons, and that configuration is noted separately below rather than folded into the standard figures.

With empty weight 2,217 lb and gross 3,200 lb, useful load is 983 lb. Standard 58-gallon usable fuel weighs 348 lb, leaving 635 lb for people and bags at full standard fuel.

• Full standard fuel (58 gal) + 2 pax (380 lb) + 100 lb bags: 828 lb, well within the 983 lb useful load. Remaining payload: 155 lb. Endurance and range are not sourced this session (see Performance Notes) — do not plan a trip distance from a figure this page does not carry.
• Full standard fuel + 4 pax (760 lb): 1,108 lb — 125 lb OVER the 983 lb useful load. Unlike the Duchess-class light twin, this single-engine 4-seat airplane at standard fuel cannot carry 4 average adults with full tanks; fuel must be reduced by roughly 21 gallons to stay at gross.
• On the optional 92-gallon tankage (Item 113, +34 gal/+204 lb over standard): full fuel alone is 552 lb, leaving 431 lb for people and bags — comfortably 2 adults and bags, not 4.

Compared to a Comanche 260 the Viking's corrected useful load is markedly lower; compared to a beechcraft-bonanza-35-late V35B it gives up meaningfully more payload than this page previously showed. Both comparisons should be re-checked against this page's corrected numbers rather than the superseded figures.

The Viking rewards the pilot who actually flies cross-countries with two people onboard rather than a full cabin — for that mission it is arguably the best value in the fast-single market, provided the buyer accepts the specialty maintenance requirements and budgets fuel planning from a real POH rather than this page's current gaps.

Cross-country (9/10) — This is what a Viking is for. 163 KTAS at 75% power (Jane's, see Performance Notes), a stable IFR platform, and a comfortable cabin. Range is not sourced on this page as of 2026-09-12 (see Performance Notes) — plan trips from a POH once one is located, not from a marketing figure. The Turbo Viking extends the mission even further by topping weather. See Cross-Country Flying.

Local fun flying (8/10) — Crisp handling, responsive ailerons, ramp presence, and the mystique of a wood-and-fabric thoroughbred make the Viking a genuinely fun weekend airplane. Owners who fly them regularly rarely want to sell. See Local Fun Flying.

Business travel (7/10) — Fast and IFR-capable with enough useful load for two adults, bags, and full fuel. Downgraded slightly from beechcraft-bonanza-35-late for business travel because of parts-availability risk and the pre-buy complexity — an AOG in a strange city without a Viking-savvy shop nearby is a real concern. See Business Travel.

Surveying (4/10) — Fast, stable, high-wing-loading platform. Low-wing obstructs downward visibility more than a high-wing Cessna; rate of fuel burn is higher than purpose-built survey platforms. See surveying.

Cargo hauling (3/10) — Useful load of 983 lb (derived: 3,200 lb TCDS gross minus 2,217 lb Jane's empty weight — down from the 1,108 lb this page stored before its 2026-09-12 gross-weight correction) is modest for a 300 HP airframe, and the cabin is optimized for four passengers, not freight. Low wing means belly loading is impossible.

Flight training (2/10) — Complex, high-performance, specialty airframe. Not a trainer in any sensible sense; transition training for new owners is where instruction happens, not primary training.

Backcountry (2/10) — Low wing, fixed pitch retractable gear, small wing, and fabric/wood construction all argue against grass and gravel operation. Some owners do use them on smooth turf but it is not the mission. See Backcountry / Bush Flying.

Aerobatics (2/10) — Not aerobatic certified. The wood wing and slim margins over Va make it a poor choice for any maneuvering beyond chandelles and lazy eights.

Vikings came from the factory with King KX-170B/175B NAVCOMs and basic gyros, often with an ADF and sometimes a KNS-80 RNAV. The panel real estate is ample for a 1970s four-seater and most airframes have been upgraded at least once.

• $55K-$80K entry tier: Original round-dial steam gauges, aging King avionics, possibly a Garmin GNS 430 (non-WAAS) added in the 2000s. ADS-B Out via a tail-beacon solution (uAvionix tailBeaconX or Garmin GDL 82). Autopilot typically a Century II or III — functional but dated.
• $85K-$120K mid tier: Garmin GTN 650/750 touchscreen, GTX 345 ADS-B In/Out, maybe a G5 attitude or HSI, engine monitor (JPI EDM 730/830 or EI CGR-30P). Century or S-TEC autopilot overhauled or replaced.
• $125K-$160K upper tier: Full dual G5 or single G3X Touch experimental-style retrofit (the Viking's pre-1982 type certificate permits many of the "G3X for certified" STCs), GFC 500 autopilot STC (available for some Vikings via third-party STC), dual GTN navigators, digital engine monitor.

See Avionics Pricing Reference for install-cost references. The Viking's sheet-aluminum instrument panel and generous radio stack space make avionics retrofits easier than in a contemporary Bonanza.

• Aux fuel tanks: Original 60 gallon usable can be extended to 75 gallons with factory-optional or STC'd tip/wing tanks, adding ~1.5 hours of endurance. Install typically $5,000-$8,000 if tanks are already fitted and just need IRAN.
• Speed mods: LoPresti cowling and fairing kits were offered for earlier Vikings; few installed examples remain. Gains are modest (3-5 KTAS).
• Autopilot retrofit: Genesys S-TEC 3100 digital autopilot STC has been developed for the Viking via bridge certification. Garmin GFC 500 installations exist but are aftermarket adaptations.
• Engine upgrades: Continental IO-520-K to IO-550 conversions are uncommon but possible; gains modest because the airframe is already behind a 300 HP engine.
• Electric flaps retrofit: For early 17-30 hydraulic-flap airframes, conversion to post-1968 electric flaps is available and simplifies maintenance.

See Aircraft Valuation Methodology for how STCs affect resale.

Parts availability: Fair. Airframe-specific parts (cowlings, fairings, gear doors, unique castings) are scarce. Alexandria Aircraft LLC and Viking Aviation LLC (current type certificate holder) produce some parts on a limited basis; the Bellanca-Champion Club is an essential resource for parts networking. Engine and avionics parts are standard fleet items and readily available. Fabric and wood supplies (Poly-Fiber, aircraft-grade spruce, plywood) are universal but require specialized labor.

Mechanic familiarity: Specialist. This is the single biggest operational concern with a Viking. A typical A&P can do oil changes and routine inspection items, but the annual wood-wing inspection, fabric work, and airframe-specific rigging really do require someone who has worked on Vikings before. Owners ferry their airplanes to one of four specialty shops (Weber's Aero, Rocket Aviation, MARS, Pasquale) for annual inspections and major work. Budget for a 1-2 day ferry flight each year if you are not near one.

Annual inspection cost: $1,500-$2,500 if no significant findings; $3,500-$6,000 if fabric or wood work is needed. See Maintenance Ecosystem.

Total annual cost at 100 hours: ~$19,000-$22,000 including fuel (~$7,500), annual (~$2,000), reserves for engine/fabric/paint (~$6,000), hangar (~$3,000), insurance (~$2,500), and databases/misc (~$500).

Expensive ticket items:

• Recovering the airframe: $25,000-$45,000 (every 20-25 years)
• IO-520/IO-540 overhaul: $42,500–$53,500 field overhaul, $55,000-$70,000 factory reman
• TIO-540 overhaul: $55,000-$75,000 (turbo adds cost)
• Paint: $12,000-$20,000
• Landing gear overhaul (actuators, struts, doors): $4,000-$8,000 as a package

MARKET ASKING (2026-09-12): This page's price_min_usd/price_max_usd/price_typical_usd ($44,000 / $115,000 / $82,000) come from AeroGurus.com — 7 active listings retrieved 2026-09-12, spanning the base 17-30 through Super Viking through Turbo Super Viking, exact band $44,000-$115,000 averaging $82,057. No Vref or Aircraft Bluebook subscription is available to this catalogue, so this is asking price, not a considered sale value, on a 7-listing sample. See raw/market/listings-viking-marketband-2026-09-12.md. The condition tiers below are a broader, less certain picture built from the same market observation plus general condition/avionics reasoning, not independently re-verified this session; treat the frontmatter band as the sourced figure.

The Viking market is thinly traded and heavily stratified by condition. Going prices (2024-2026):

• Project / tie-down history / fabric due: $44,000-$65,000
• Average hangared 17-30A with mid-time engine and legacy panel: $70,000-$95,000
• Clean 17-30A/17-31A with fresh fabric, mid-time engine, GTN 650 panel: $95,000-$115,000
• Low-time 17-31ATC Turbo Super Viking with fresh paint, fabric, and modern panel: $115,000-$180,000 (the top of this range exceeds this page's sourced band and is not independently confirmed)
• Post-1984 custom-build airframes (rare): $180,000-$250,000 (not independently confirmed this session)

Engine value deltas (see Aircraft Valuation Methodology):

• Run-out IO-520 or IO-540: subtract $25,000-$35,000 from a mid-time price
• Fresh overhaul (field): add $15,000-$20,000
• Fresh factory reman: add $25,000-$35,000

Fabric/airframe deltas:

• Fresh recover (Poly-Fiber or Ceconite, <5 years old): add $15,000-$25,000
• Fabric over 20 years old: deduct $15,000-$25,000 against a condition-normalized price
• Fresh paint over good primer: add $8,000-$15,000

Avionics deltas: Per Avionics Pricing Reference — GTN 750 adds ~$15K, GFC 500 installation adds ~$18K, G3X Touch certified retrofit adds ~$25K.

The Viking is not a collector asset and is unlikely to appreciate faster than inflation. Buy one to fly, not to invest.

The wing spar AD is the one that matters. FAA AD 80-06-05 (and its antecedents/revisions) requires periodic inspection of the Viking's wooden wing spars for rot, delamination, and moisture damage. The AD is NOT a showstopper — it is a routine annual inspection item on properly maintained airframes — but it does require removal of inspection covers/fairings at each annual, inspection through access ports, and a knowledgeable eye to interpret what is seen. All documented Viking in-flight wing failures have been traced to severe rot at the inboard end of the spar caused by water intrusion over years of outdoor storage. A Viking that has lived in a hangar its whole life and has current annual wood-wing inspection sign-offs is effectively no more structurally risky than a same-vintage metal-winged retractable.

Pre-buy red flags (specific to Viking):

• Any history of tie-down or outdoor storage, especially in humid climates
• Soft spots when a plastic hammer is tapped along the spar (tip to root) — the plywood skin and solid spar sound different
• Water staining, discoloration, or fabric bubbles at the wing root
• Missing or poorly documented annual wood-wing inspections
• Fabric age — the fabric should be Poly-Fiber or equivalent and less than 20-25 years old. Recovering the airframe costs $25,000-$45,000.
• Landing gear actuator leaks and gear door rigging issues — common Viking squawks
• Main gear strut condition — known service item

Other ADs of note:

• Continental IO-520 crankshaft ADs (affect 17-30/17-30A variants)
• Lycoming IO-540 crankshaft ADs for affected S/N ranges (17-31/17-31A)
• Bendix/TCM magneto ADs (universal to the fleet)
• Exhaust system cracking on Turbo Vikings — turbo exhaust is a high-stress component and requires careful inspection

Critical pre-buy guidance: Do NOT buy a Viking without a pre-buy by one of the recognized Viking specialty shops. The frequently-cited names are Weber's Aero (Alexandria, MN), Rocket Aviation (Plainview, TX), MARS (California), and Pasquale Aviation (Pottstown, PA). A $2,000-$3,000 pre-buy at one of these shops can save $40,000+ on a bad airframe.

Vikings occupy an awkward underwriting niche. They are retractable, high-performance, and specialty construction, which pushes them into expensive categories. See GA Insurance Underwriting.

• Qualified pilot, $1M liability only: ~$550-$650/year
• Low-time or new-to-type pilot, $1M liability only: ~$675-$950/year
• Qualified pilot, $1M liability + $90K hull: ~$2,200-$2,800/year
• Low-time or new-to-type pilot, $1M liability + $90K hull: ~$3,100-$4,400/year

Underwriters require complex/high-performance endorsements and typically want 10-25 hours of dual in type plus a Viking-specific checkout. Some carriers will not write the wood-wing retractable at all and owners may find themselves with only 2-3 quotes. Hangar storage is effectively mandatory — some underwriters exclude coverage for damage traceable to outdoor storage / moisture / rot. Hull values above $150K can be difficult to place without a fresh appraisal and documented fabric/wood-wing inspections.