Chris, and Malcolm,
With all due respect, the 8KCAB Decathlon AND the 8KCAB Super Decathlon were both introduced by Bellanca, not by the far later American Champion Aircraft firm. The earlier Champion Aircraft Corporation (founded in 1954 that bought the Aeronca aircraft production rights-Aeronca out of aircraft manufacturing in 1951) initially developed the 7KCAB which was subsequently introduced by Bellanca in Minnesota as the 8KCAB Decathlon. I personally met and knew Bob Brown in the early 1960s, founder of Champion Aircraft Corporation of Wisconsin. He introduced the Citabria and the Twin Champion, among many others, all under the Champion name.
Bellanca in Minnesota first introduced the Decathlon name. Bellanca took over production from some Champion Aircraft Corporation successors (who never built any aircraft) in 1970. Bellanca also introduced the 8KCAB Super Decathlon and their production of all aircraft ended in 1982.
What may have confused the FAA database is that different aircraft were constructed by different firms under the SAME A21CE Type Certificate dated 16 October 1970, with many specific ADs issued by model, either for say, Decathlons or Super Decathlons, as they are different aircraft. The 8 series were certificated under A21CE which complies with the modern FAR 23 certification standards. The 7 series acknowledges the original Aeronca series.
My reference was to only N5503H, a 1978 Bellanca 8KCAB Super Decathlon which N number entry upload to this site brings up a Decathlon foil, not the true Super Decathlon foil.
The FAA database is rife with errors and they have the attitude, quote: "You don't want to go there!" unquote. They also charge a fee for corrections submitted which does nothing to improve the database accuracy once found out by a frustrated aircraft owner. A 1939 factory-produced Bucker Jungmann wrongly listed as a 1952 Bucker in the FAA database comes to mind.
For Chris and for Malcolm of all the Admin Team members, I mean no personal invective when simply submitting obvious data errors for correction. And, I find little reason to check every single like-aircraft model listing as you suggest before uploading a photo. I look at what the upload foil is (as I assume all others do) when entering the aircraft's registration to upload a photo, and sometimes that foil is incorrect, probably from the faulty FAA database for American registrations. Please stop taking a data base correction entry submittal personal. The Forum has the category, and users should NOT be verbally punished for using the Forum.
Consider this: perhaps any issue lies with/in the FAA aircraft data base upon which you cite and apparently depend upon. May I remind you that long ago Ken stopped uploading the FAA database each midnight here because he recognized it is rife with errors? His statement to me via email.
Hence, I enter a LOT of new N number entries not first found on this site, and they can ONLY come from the FAA database with occasional obvious error corrections direct to me from the aircraft's owner upon personal query of probable issues: hence that 1952 Bucker reference of a true 1939 factory build. I put the truth in my aircraft descriptions, despite automatic upload foil errors.