Anyone here own a Citabria? I'm thinking about buying one to have as a fun little tail dragger hamburger hop plane, maybe light acro. The Baron is an awesome travel machine but not particularly well suited for a quick hop around the patch. I'm thinking VFR only, basic machine for under 60k. Thoughts on the models? I'm leaning towards a 7ECA.

I owned a 7GCBC. It's the 150hp with flaps. Loved that airplane. Owned it when I lived in Colorado.
I wouldn't hesitate to own any model of citabria. Mine was a '76 model year, had the original wood spar (and all the inspection panels to boot). Better peace of mind with the new metal spar which is on the newer ones, and can be put on the older ones as an expensive mod. Hard to beat as a fun turn around the patch

I own the one without flaps and the 150hp O-320 with fixed pitch prop. I love it much better than the anemic 7ECA..... No need for flaps, it slips wonderfully.

Ive own a 7ECA before but you really want a 150 hp 7GCBC or Decathlon.
That 210 hp FI Denali Scout at Sun n Fun was a dream.

We have a '68 7ECA. It is the airplane I learned to fly in and is definitely a fun little plane to go putt around in. 7ECA's generally have the most useful load, however, they also have a fixed pitch prop and only 115 HP Lycoming 0-235. 115 HP is generally plenty, but don't expect anything to happen fast. 100 mph or so in cruise, and rate of climb is not impressive. Great airplane for some light aerobatics. Nice for short trips, kind of weak above 8000, takes forever and about 50 miles to get to 10,000 but who the hell wants to fly one of these up there anyway??? They wheel land nice, they 3 point nice, they're pretty stable and have a solid feel. Some have heel brakes, like mine, and others have toe brakes. Heel brakes are no big deal, however, I did learn with them so they were never a big deal for me. Ground handling in winds over about 15 kts takes the fun out of it, but, I've landed ours in more than that. Ours has the wooden spars, I'd probably look for the metal ones if I were in the market now, however, wooden are fine too just so long as the airplane has been kept indoors and maintained well. Some people have added spades to the wooden spar ones, there is an STC for that. As far as I know, you can get spades for the metal spar planes from the factory. I've never flew a Citabria with spades, but hear it is a hell of an improvement.

A little advice though, they are NOT airtight, and not all of them have the tube running to the back seat from the heater. DO NOT take SWMBO on a Christmas light sightseeing trip on a 20* night, that doesn't work out well....

I don't need to go fast, this would be a Sunday hamburger run plane. If there was one for rent on my field I wouldn't even bother as I likely won't fly it more than 25 hrs a year. Thinking something like this: http://www.barnstormers.com/classified_ ... ng%22.html

Anyone based at KCCR want to partner up?

Adam,

I find myself frequently looking at Citabrias and Cubs for the reasons you list. I've also been trying to convince my dad to get one so I could fly it from time to time. He lives in Benicia (and thus would be based out of KCCR) and is interested in learning to fly (he used to fly ultralights). We might be able to work something out...

shoe

My father has had two, and we have completely rebuilt each..

The first was a 65 7ECA with the O-200, with the cylinder AD to set the timing earlier. Instead of 100 hp, we figured it was around 90 at the most. It was a dog. In Michigan, a 80 degree day, we wouldn't take it into a runway less than 3000', and if obstacles were present, we wanted more like 4000'. We rebuilt the entire aircraft (other than the engine), and it took a year. This aircraft had the wood spars, and three of the four were split. We fabricated four new spars. We believe the aircraft had a outdoor life in the past. It was also prior to the spar AD. We sold it as while we enjoyed the airplane, we were never comfortable in it's performance. Cruise was around 85-90 MPH (not Knots) with that engine. Avoid the O-200 due to lack of power...

Several years later, we stumbled upon a project 64 7ECA. It had been covered up to the "pink." We completed it, but found major cracks in both main spars during the inspection for the spar AD. We couldn't believe some numb-skull covered them. We again fabricated all four spars on it. We also converted it to a 150hp engine, with help from our FAA Maintenance ASI, and the factory. It's now the equivalent of a 7GCAA. It's a much, much better flying airplane than the 7ECA. Cruise is around 105-110 MPH. We believe this may be the oldest 150hp Citabria.

It's for sale now as dad wants to start flying the 182, and my V35A when it's done. Here it is:
http://www.rnpaviationservices.com/n11050.htm

Here are the things to watch:
1. Inspect the spars closely. Just because the newer ones are metal, doesn't make them better. The wood spars do not fatigue like aluminum. Once you have a known quality spar, the AD is a non-event. The first compliance is a bugger though. If it's sat outside for any length of time, it's likely to have had spar problems. We added inspection panels (or at least rings) in nearly every wing bay for easier inspection.
2. Watch the fuselage tubing, especially right at the cabin aft bulkhead. It's the lowest point, and water will sit in there. Look AND feel closely the fabric along the lower aft longerons, as the tubing will bubble when it rusts. I've seen lots of "perfect" Citabria's, Champ's and Decathlon's that needed a very expensive repair.
3. Wing Struts can form rust internally. Make sure there is no rust inside.
4. There is an AD on the rear seat that gets missed alot. Make sure the rear seat will not fall down and block the control stick.
5. I prefer the olio-strut landing gear as it seems to dampen any bounces during the landing. It's slightly more maintenance, but not much. It also sits lower, for easier visibility out the windshield.
6. There is a "low" and a "high" instrument panel. Some shorter folks have a difficult time seeing over the panel if it's the "high" version. I'm 6' tall, and have no problem. My father is also 6', but he likes to sit on a cushion to see better. I only sit on the cushion when instructing from the back seat.
7. Don't be afraid of heel brakes. They are odd at first, but work well...

Jason

They're great little airplanes! I don't have the knowledge to understand all of the different variations and models that others on this forum have. My opinion is that the ailerons are heavy on the 7ECA, but feel MUCH nicer on the Decathlon. If I was looking for a plane to "putter" around in, I would try and find one with the spades, or if its possible to add them (didn't know that!) I would do so!

Unless your going to do some serious aerobatics, don't add the spades. They only thing they'll do for you is send you to the hospital when you bang you head on them in the hangar!

Also, the large left side window is a nice conversion on older airframes. They replaced the sliding windows...

Jason

Buy a Decathlon, the prices are great right now on them.

I also owned a 7ECA - great airplanes and cheap to operate. Mine did have the wooden spars. I never had a problem but if I were buying today, I'd get one with the factory metal spars. I'd also try to get one with the 150HP or 160HP engine, GCAA. I never felt like I needed flaps but you can get a GCBC with flaps.

As someone else mentioned, try to get one with rear seat heat. It isn't great but it's better than nothing.

Dave

The 7ECA is a great, inexpensive little taildragger to own and operate. It doesn't have much power but your Baron takes care of that piece for you. You will never miss flaps and it's one less "system" to worry about.

If you want to do aerobatics, it'll do them, but you have to convince it to get fast enough for vertical maneuvers.

Agree with the recommendations for rear seat heat and metal spar. Also look for aileron spades (or install them after buying) as they really help roll control and rate.

All the advice is excellent. I've flown 7ECA's, 7KCAB's and owned an 8KCAB briefly. They are all great and fun to fly. The extra power of the 150 hp is nice in a Citabria and the 180 hp with symmetrical wing in the Decathlon is a revelation.

The one you've picked looks like an excellent candidate.

Look very carefully at the fabric, wing spars etc. for signs of abuse by amateur acro "performers". I've seen a few that we're abused by exceeding the G limits.

The April 2013 issue of Sport Aerobatics includes a feature, "How to Perform a Proper Decathlon Pre-Buy Inspection," by Greg Koontz. He knows a lot about the type and its variants (he flies them in airshows and gives aerobatic instruction).

You can download the free PDF version of the magazine from the IAC website.