The 8GCBC Scout is a two-seat, high-wing, single-engined fixed conventional gear general aviation airplane that entered production in the United States in 1974.

Designed for personal and commercial use, it is commonly found in utility roles such as bush flying—thanks to its short takeoff and landing (STOL) ability—as well as agriculture, pipeline patrol, and glider and banner towing.

The strut-braced wings of the Scout are, like the fuselage and tail surfaces, fabric covered, utilizing aluminum alloy ribs.

Bellanca made the Scout available with several Lycoming O-360 engine variants, all of 180 horsepower (134 kW), with the choice of a fixed-pitch or constant speed propeller.

Though the Scout went out of production within less than a decade of its introduction, this was not due to any fault in the design but rather to the slump in general aviation in the United States at the end of the 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s.

Scouts remain popular as bush planes—including versions fitted with floats or skis, for glider and banner towing, for pipeline patrol, in agricultural uses, and as personal aircraft.

DBCA replace each aircraft with a new example as they reach 4000 airframe hours, thus they are also American Champion's largest Scout customer.

This series of failures led the Federal Aviation Administration to issue an Airworthiness Directive (AD 2000-25-02 R1) that affected all wood-spar wing Scouts.

Scouts built by American Champion, as well as those retrofitted with the factory metal-spar wings, are exempt from the AD's inspection requirements.