Bellanca Aries T-250
Bellanca Aries T-250
Bellanca's first all metal five seat aircraft. Only four were built and of those only two are currently flying. This is truly a rare bird.
Aries T-250 Performance
General characteristicsCrew: one pilotCapacity: 4/5 seats Length: 26.2 ft in (7.98 m) Wingspan: 31.3 ft in (9.55 m) Height: 8.6 ft in (2.62 m) Empty weight: 1,850 lb (839 kg) Gross weight: 3,150 lb (1,429 kg) Powerplant: 1 × Lycoming IO-540-B4C5 flat-six piston engine, 250 hp (187 kW) Performance Maximum speed: 215 mph (346 km/h) Range: 1,170 miles (1,880 km) Service ceiling: 18,100 ft (5,520 m) Rate of climb: 1,240 ft/min (6.3 m/s)
There were "at least" four of these aircraft built. It was the project of Marvin Greenwood and
the original example was constructed between 1969 and 1973. In the late seventies the company
he partnered (Anderson, Greenwood and Co.) controlled the Bellanca Aircraft Company
and as many ads of the day suggest they began a rivival of sorts for the Bellanca line (which
then also included the Champion line of planes as well).
The Aries T-250 was FAA certified on July 28, 1976 and the AG&Co. literature of the day
projected T-250 production to begin at the Bellanca factory beginning in early 1978, with an
optomistic first year run of 15 to 20 aircraft. Obviously this never happened and the FAA's
registry as of today, only contains five aircraft: Serial numbers 0003 through 0007. S/N 0003
is the plane referenced in the "In Flight USA" magazine below and still shows to be registered in
California. S/N 0004 shows to be registered in Illinois and S/N 0005 shows a government
registration to Central Texas College in Killeen, Texas...which tends to confirm the articles claim.
S/N 0006 & 0007 are on the FAA's registry with N numbers (250BB & 250DD) and no other
information. It would be my guess that the S/Ns and N#s were assigned and submitted to the
FAA so the company could borrow against them. It is unknown if either of these aircraft ever
started or completed production. I've also not been able to find either of the first two aircraft
(assuming they were numbered starting at S/N 1), one of which had to be Greenwood's
handmade prototype.