/...It had new metal wings and struts installed a couple of years ago, and since it resides under Class B it has ADS-B in/out installed. Roughly 3,800 TT, and ~400 SMOH on a factory reman and Santa Monica Propellor prop.../
Age of the fabric and the degree to which it was rebuilt matters a lot in terms of a fair selling price and the potential expenses in the near to intermediate future. If it got new ACA wings a couple years ago and just new paint on 30 year old fabric on the fuselage and tail surfaces, then it's worth a lot less than if it received a full recover and a general IRAN on the entire airframe at the same time.
When the overhaul was done and how regularly it has been flown since also matters. Ideally it should be flown every 2-3 weeks, even in a dry climate. Hanagred is a plus though both for the fabric and to reduce the daily temperature changes on the unused engine.
/....Maintenance has been done by CP Air in Santa Paula for the last 9 years, and I'd likely use them for a pre-purchase inspection.../
Generally speaking it's a good idea to get a fresh pair of eyes on an airplane when you do a pre-buy inspection. That's assuming there is someone else in the area who speaks rag and tube airplane and is familiar with what goes bad on a Citabria.
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Heel brakes are great. I've never understood why pilots don't like them - unless they were raised as nose wheel pilots with toe brakes, and I suspect that's the real issue. I learned to fly in a Supercub and my first plane as a Super Cruiser, both with heel brakes the way God intended. IMHO it's much easier to operate a taildragger properly with heel brakes.
For example, when landing on asphalt in squirrely conditions you can still tap dance on the rudders with the short little movements needed to keep it moving straight on centerline, while at the same time applying the heel brakes independently to precisely modulate the braking. Most importantly, you can then immediately get off the heel brakes if the tail starts to lift, while still operating the rudders independently of the brakes. That's more difficult to do as well (IMHO) with toe brakes, and I suspect tow brakes are a contributing factor to prop strikes.
The counter argument I hear is that it's harder to apply full rudder and then add brake with heel brakes. Maybe, maybe not. Personally, I think it's harder to have full or nearly full rudder in and then have to get off the brake quickly and that's a problem as you're normally using large amounts of rudder at slow speeds where brakes can get you in trouble in a hurry.
In short, I'd pay more for a Citabria with heel brakes.
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I think the market is a little higher than some folks here have suggested. With recent fabric, ACA metal wings (and the 1750 pound GW that comes with that), 400 since a factory rebuild, a similar time SMOH prop, nice interior and ADS-B out, $60K would be a fair price. Some folks might not want to buy it at that price, but it'll sure sell at that price and it'll sell pretty quickly.
You can sure find a decent Citabria for $50K, but it'll probably have older fabric or higher time SMOH, or it'll have wood spar wings and based on my shopping for a Citabria last winter, $10K is about how much ACA wings add in value on an older Citabria.
In the short term, the annual inspections will be $500-$700 less expensive, and that's significant on an airplane where the labor for the basic annual inspection runs around $800 without the time required for the spar inspection. In the long term you don't have to fret waiting for a crack to appear. It's low probability but if you win that particular lottery, it's a high dollar item fix and it'll leave your airplane down for months.
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As noted above most folks who do inverted flight or negative G maneuvers every day prefer the Christen inverted oil system. But it's heavier and more complex than the Champion system. The Champion system uses a baffle and door in the sump along with a clunk type oil pickup and a firewall mounted breather/separator with a check valve to manage how it breathes when inverted. It's pretty simple and it'll work fine if you are doing things like slow rolls. In fact, some folks feel it feeds oil better in knife edge flight than many Christen inverted oil system installations. The caveat is that it's really intended for short periods of inverted or negative G flight. 40-45 seconds is a more realistic limit than 2 minutes.
Initially there was a 400 hour inspection requirement due to potential concerns about the baffle possibly cracking. However, that didn't become an issue and the 400 hour inspection isn't mandatory. Based on experiences of other 7KCAB owners and based on the logs for my 7KCAB, the IO-320-E2A and E2Bs with these systems go to TBO with no issues with the system, other than some observed rubbing on the oil pickup line at overhaul. Based on that, if you decide to run on condition past TBO, I'd pull the sump and inspect the baffle and oil pickup at TBO.
My 1967 7KCAB has the IO-320-E2A with that system still on it. I have no complaints, but if you ask ACA, they'll tell you the old system is crap and try to sell you a Christen inverted system for it. As noted above the Christen system is better, but when used within its limitations the old system isn't crap - but ACA makes money selling new systems, just like they make money selling new ACA metal spar wings - so take their advice with a grain of salt.
Champion made a few 8KCABs in 1972 just before they were acquired by Bellanca, and I am not sure if the Champion system was used on those early 8KCABs, or if Champion used the Christen system on the 8KCAB from the start. Either way I'm pretty sure Bellanca used the Christen system on all of the 7KCABs and the 8KCABs they produced. So 1972 would most likely have been the last year the Champion system was used on new production aircraft.
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In terms of what to look for on a prospective 7KCAB:
1) Look up in the headliner at the wood and tubing there (a bore scope is ideal, but the camera on your smart phone works fine). You are looking for any signs of rust on the tubing, dry rot or peeling varnish on the wood, and any signs of mold or mildew. All of those are indicators that moisture has leaked in around the wing to fuselage fairings. It causes damage in that area above the cabin, and then finds its way into the tail.
2) Follow the water, and look in the tail. There are a couple wing fasteners securing the rear panel in the baggage compartment. Remove it and carefully inspect the tail. You're looking for rust on the tubes and rust stains on the fabric. Also look at the control cables and ensure none of them are rubbing and that they are in good condition. Also inspect the battery, battery box and area around the box for signs of any damage from leaking battery acid. The Gill boat anchor is a common battery for Citabria. The Concord is lighter and that's a plus.
3) Externally, you can usually feel any rust under the tubes in the tail through the fabric. If it feels bumpy, it's probably rust. The same applies to the tubing and formers in the elevator and horizontal stabilizer.
4) Check to ensure that each wingtip is equal height above the floor. If the tire pressures are equal and the wing tip heights are different, something is bent. It may be the spring gear, but if they look identical in terms of bends then it may well be something in the fuselage.
5) Remove the two bolts that secure the bottom of the boot cowl and look in that area. You'll see the brake cylinders and linkages as well as the structure under the floor boards. The insulation there will tell you a lot about any oil leaks in the plane that may have been wiped off the outside. The amount of dirt you find there will also tell you how often that area really gets inspected.
6) Feel/shake the jury struts to ensure none of them are loose. It's a bigger issue on cubs and carbon cubs, but the same break can occur on a Citabria.
7) Gear bolts and fittings are a 1000 hour item. At 3800 hours, it's worth checking the log to see if they were replaced in the last rebuild or if they are coming due. Strut fittings are also life limited parts, but with new ACA wings and the new struts that are required, they should be a non issue.
8) Check to see if it still has a generator or if it was upgraded with an alternator. You'll note that first thing at idle when the amp meter shows a discharge until you throttle up to 900-1000 rpm. An alternator is a plus but a generator isn't a deal breaker.
9) Aileron spades are a big plus on a Citabria. Cubs have better control harmony (closer to the ideal 2-4-8 control force ratio for ailerons, elevator and rudder) and Citabrias have a reputation for being heavy on the controls due largely to the heavy aileron forces. If the ailerons feel heavy on the ground the culprit is cable tension at the upper end of the range. reducing it to the low end of the allowable range will lighten the feel. However spades are really what is needed to get decant control harmony. I can't tell if yours has them or not as the ACA metal spar wings puts them on the outboard end of the aileron and both those locations are not visible in the pictures above.
10) Check the useful load. Citabrias are useful load challenged (at least legally) with full fuel and a pair of 200 pounders on board. They also fly better with an aft CG, but the aerobatic aft CG limitation can be an issue, so the aft CG limit that is nice for STOl operation competes a bit with the forward CG that's preferred for flying aerobatics with 2 full sized people with parachutes.
11) Test fly before you buy. A normal take off, climb, cruise, some slow flight and stall series followed by a full stall landing will tell you all you need to know about how well it's rigged.
