CitAv8tr
New member
Hi everybody,
Happy to be finally able to participate and to share the story of my project here after being a silent reader since 2018.
So here it goes…
Thanks to a friend of mine, I own a 69ˋ 7GCBC. Back in summer 2019, he called me if I would be interested in a very cheap Citabria which was used as a former starling defence aircraft (flying low overhead vineyards to protect the grapes from the birds). The aircraft had not been flown since 2010 and sadly sat in the corner in a hangar waiting to be rescued by someone. We gave her a thorough check and boroscoped the engine which revealed rusty cylinders and some pits formed on the lifters, the interior was quite worn and the fuselage frame screamed, at least for me, for an overhaul. The wings were good even though I am not happy with the wood spars.
So I bought a project where I didnt really know what I was going to do with it. We disassembled the aircraft, stored the wings at my friends place and the fuselage in a dry barn. That could have almost been the end of the story due to the beginning of COVID19, hard work in the following years and my young family. I simply couldn’t make up my mind if it was worth the time, money and efforts to get this 50 year old plane back in flying condition which was designed in the 40s last century with an engine design of the same year. My thoughts were that by the time I will be finished with the project I have invested enough money that I could have been able to build a nice experimental or could have just bought a certified aircraft which suits my needs.
I like the versatility and the look of the aircraft though and I am also emotionally attached to it as its my first aircraft I have bought therefore I wanted at least to give it a try. So in September 2022 when the job got quite a bit easier again, I have started the disassembly and will take it step by step from there. It took me 7 working days till mid of October to strip the fuselage down to the bare frame and to make a first analysis of what is going to be needed and desired. This also included sitting for hours in the evening reading posts from other restoration projects in this forum, checking the FB group regularly and looking at numerous pictures of bare frames to be able to set up a list for Chad to send my first order.
The email for the order was sent beginning of November and with some patience I have received my parts in May. While preparing the fuselage for the sandblaster and also for the welding job I have found a few things which calls for a second order but I will start to weld the parts I have got in the meantime.
Thanks to Big Ed for his list of fuselage upgrades, I have ordered almost all of them plus additional things like the parts for the heel to toe break change, skylight lugs, new style cockpit panel, metall belly brackets and some tubes which need to be replaced.
That’s where I am with my project at the moment. It will be a slow mover but that’s ok, the final outcome is important to me.
Looking forward to talking Citabria tech stuff with you all,
Patrik
View attachment 6843View attachment 6844View attachment 6845View attachment 6846View attachment 6847View attachment 6848View attachment 6849
Happy to be finally able to participate and to share the story of my project here after being a silent reader since 2018.
So here it goes…
Thanks to a friend of mine, I own a 69ˋ 7GCBC. Back in summer 2019, he called me if I would be interested in a very cheap Citabria which was used as a former starling defence aircraft (flying low overhead vineyards to protect the grapes from the birds). The aircraft had not been flown since 2010 and sadly sat in the corner in a hangar waiting to be rescued by someone. We gave her a thorough check and boroscoped the engine which revealed rusty cylinders and some pits formed on the lifters, the interior was quite worn and the fuselage frame screamed, at least for me, for an overhaul. The wings were good even though I am not happy with the wood spars.
So I bought a project where I didnt really know what I was going to do with it. We disassembled the aircraft, stored the wings at my friends place and the fuselage in a dry barn. That could have almost been the end of the story due to the beginning of COVID19, hard work in the following years and my young family. I simply couldn’t make up my mind if it was worth the time, money and efforts to get this 50 year old plane back in flying condition which was designed in the 40s last century with an engine design of the same year. My thoughts were that by the time I will be finished with the project I have invested enough money that I could have been able to build a nice experimental or could have just bought a certified aircraft which suits my needs.
I like the versatility and the look of the aircraft though and I am also emotionally attached to it as its my first aircraft I have bought therefore I wanted at least to give it a try. So in September 2022 when the job got quite a bit easier again, I have started the disassembly and will take it step by step from there. It took me 7 working days till mid of October to strip the fuselage down to the bare frame and to make a first analysis of what is going to be needed and desired. This also included sitting for hours in the evening reading posts from other restoration projects in this forum, checking the FB group regularly and looking at numerous pictures of bare frames to be able to set up a list for Chad to send my first order.
The email for the order was sent beginning of November and with some patience I have received my parts in May. While preparing the fuselage for the sandblaster and also for the welding job I have found a few things which calls for a second order but I will start to weld the parts I have got in the meantime.
Thanks to Big Ed for his list of fuselage upgrades, I have ordered almost all of them plus additional things like the parts for the heel to toe break change, skylight lugs, new style cockpit panel, metall belly brackets and some tubes which need to be replaced.
That’s where I am with my project at the moment. It will be a slow mover but that’s ok, the final outcome is important to me.
Looking forward to talking Citabria tech stuff with you all,
Patrik
View attachment 6843View attachment 6844View attachment 6845View attachment 6846View attachment 6847View attachment 6848View attachment 6849
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