The Citabria Aerobatic Pro Thread

[DDawg]

The Citabria was designed originally with one purpose in mind Sportsman Class Aerobatic Competition.
As its name spelled backwards is "AIRBATIC"

Unlike the forerunner Champion Citabria, with the Flat bottom airfoil, the "Pro" was redesigned from the
bottom half of the fuselage up to the open cockpit and semi symmetrical, parasol wing. While it is a two
seater, open cockpit design, the front was covered most of the time and the windscreen removed. Often
modeled, not shown the front cockpit ... however there are plans that show the front seat position open.

Finding actual pictures of the Original Bird is rather difficult, and over the years I have searched for this
highly sexy plane, which has a sort of cult following. But over the years, it is slowly slipping out of sight
of the RC Modeler. Only the old-timers seem to still remember this plane, and there are only a limited
number of us left.

Picture property of George Trussell

Picture property of George Baczkowski

Even the last known existing "Pro" that was undergoing restoration, has seem to have been veiled in secrecy.
N5143T Tail Number registration.

Some of my favorite Fuelies ... haven't seen air in a while ...

Citabria Pro History


Specs for fullsize "Aerobatic Pro"...
*powered by a Lycoming 10-360 Special boosted to 200hp output
(engine is actually an IO-360-SPL, a one-off Lycoming special placarded at 180hp (not 200hp))

Wingspan 32-ft 8-in;

chord 64-in;

dihedral 1 degree;

*length 27-ft, (measurements of the actual aircraft show it to be within a few inches of a standard Citabria or Decathlon).

height 59-in.

Empty weight 1,235-lbs;

gross 1650.

Rate of climb is 1,700-ft/min.

Landing gear is spring type.




Balsa USA Kit Specs
Citabria Pro Build Log


Fuse+engine+servos+tank 3.106kg
LGcomplete with pants+wheels 0.597kg
Wing with servos 1.383kg
Cowl,struts,spinner,screws 0.404kg
Battery,sw,ali.ext. 0.207kg
TOTAL 5.697kg / 12.56lbs

wing area 7.777sq.ft.
wing loading 25.83 oz/sq.ft.
the advertised wing loading is 23.10 oz/sq.ft.


Total weight is very close to mine. (last time I weighed it) I actually had to add tail weight about an 1.5 ounces if I remember correctly.

BUSA SPECS

The below attachments were selected for the closeness of scale to the original, and the fact they show both cockpits.
And I still have not located my BUSA Plans in PDF format (which I don't think it showed both cockpits) ...

 

[DDawg]

Ok, now that I have supplied most of the "background stuff" out of the way ...

I had a generous offer by ABaser to tackle the task of attempting to breath life into this overlooked Gem.

So please feel free to offer any information/experience that can help out seeing this project through to completion.



In my honest opinion it is the best flying of all Citabrias and Decathlons ...

I regret seeing it sit in the "Hanger", but when you have as many planes as I do... eventually, some will become "hanger queens" ... for various reasons ...

mine is:
1] I don't like taking them apart and putting them together at the field
2] The size of some are difficult to transport.
3] The cost of fuel and availability is not close by [40+ miles to closest hobby store].

and finally

4] I got into electrics.

PS: if anyone is knowledgeable on how to limit the photo size in HTML Code ... please let me know.

 

[uncle twist]

No offence DDawg, But #4 should have been "and they`re hard to get too" , You`ve got a serious collection of planes there. If you ever consider a garage sale, drop me a PM I`m not to far away (Sonoma co.) BTW What year is the Harley looks like a nice bike, got a better pic. ??.

 

[DDawg]

I have been into bikes longer than I have been into RC ... That's a long time ... I was riding motorcycles before I was diving cars ...

I finally had to quit riding the sport and dirt bikes ... Had a problem with tickets and keeping the front wheel down on the ground ...

So started riding Harleys (2005 lowrider, I bought new with 4 miles on it ... I put them on it during the test ride - 82,000 +, now & a custom built 2003 Springer softail - the only stock item is the headlamp, and it's modified) ... not saying that it slows me down much, but repairs are more expensive ... and a big deterrent ... I have a few scars that remind me too ...

As far as planes go ... there was a time when I never had enough ... and there is/was still more in the garage back then ... like 1996 back then ...

 

[uncle twist]

HA HA, I understand about keeping the front wheel on the ground, been there done that. That`s why I bought VTX 1800 in 2002, wanted an HD, but also wanted new, so, the price tag made the diff. for me, and yep, I was riding bikes before driving cars as well, was into RC back then as well, but had to leave it for a long time (wife, life, kids etc.) Anyway, Nice HD. thanks for the pics. Back to the Citabria, If Andy goes ahead with the build, he`s a fantastic modeler, and a wealth of information, He was vital to me, helping me get my one and only EA built and airborne. You won`t be disappointed, it`s great to have him back.

 

[abaser]

Starting to rough the Pro together. Nothing spectacular yet, but things are starting to take shape.

 

[uncle twist]

Looking real nice Andy, Have you ever work with prints before, for your 3-view ?? must be nice. (I think) looks a little confusing in some places though

 

[abaser]

Looking real nice Andy, Have you ever work with prints before, for your 3-view ?? must be nice.

I try to find plans like that for any model I do. Some are nice, some are a pain. These are turning into a little of the later because the parts aren't drawn to scale. I'm about to the point where I can disregard them and go off of pictures now.

 

[uncle twist]

Yep, that`s kind of what I was thinking. I edited my post before you replied, you quoted the original (Oh well) But lets face, a lot of modeling is left to interpretation when it comes to older plans / 3-views.

 

[DDawg]

I just realized why you were having to enlarge the bulkhead formers ... You didn't take in account that they are recessed slightly as the stringers rest about an 1/8 in above them.

8^)

But, you can tell what it is and what it's going to be ...

Definitely on the right track.

 

[BrokeDad]

A couple more model pics.

 

[DDawg]

Those are of the little electric job ... I have that model in kit form ... just never got to building it ... I wasn't into electrics back then ... But I have certain planes I cannot resist.

Super Chipmunks, P6-Es and Citabria Pros ... throw in the P-51 for good measure ...

 

[Moto-Guzzi]

DDawg, where'd ya get that large scale Boeing P-12? Scratch built?

I WANT it

Any Scouts of Science club kids in the area looking for mentor/projects? You could fill alot of shoes with whats laying in that garage...get them to use their hands for more than electronic gadgeting...

 

[DDawg]

DDawg, where'd ya get that large scale Boeing P-12? Scratch built?

I WANT it

Any Scouts of Science club kids in the area looking for mentor/projects? You could fill alot of shoes with whats laying in that garage...get them to use their hands for more than electronic gadgeting...

Not a Boeing P12 ...

it's an F4B-2 (but related), scratch built over a period of 3 years (never Flown - built it before my daughter was born ... she's 27 now) ... now sits on display in San Carlos at the Hiller Aviation Museum

PS. ABaser, I just sent you 3 emails ... 18 pictures of my "Pro" .... that I took this morning after digging it out and wiping the dust off it ...

 

[abaser]

Not a Boeing P12 ...

it's an F4B-2 (but related), scratch built over a period of 3 years (never Flown - built it before my daughter was born ... she's 27 now) ... now sits on display in San Carlos at the Hiller Aviation Museum

PS. ABaser, I just sent you 3 emails ... 18 pictures of my "Pro" .... that I took this morning after digging it out and wiping the dust off it ...

Got them and they'll help out for sure. Thanks.

 

[DDawg]

The Business end of my Pro. An Enya 1.55R 4 Cycle power plant beast ...

It pulled in endless vertical with this prop ... but flew more scale with a 18x6 ... looked more scary flipping that lumber with your fingers too ...

hence I started using a big electric starter ...

 

[abaser]

A little progress made tonight. I formed the wing tips, touched up the fuselage a bit, and made the landing gear. Next step is to hopefully create the cowl. That will take some time to get right because of the bumps and scoop on it. I'll be the first to admit, those areas really give me trouble sometimes.

 

[uncle twist]

Couldn`t agree more Andy, While doing the PZL, (albeit my first and only model), I found the nose and valve covers the most challenging because of the compound curves / radius`s, hard / time consuming to get right, to say the least.

 

[DDawg]

 

[DDawg]