WTB Citabria Wing Struts

J

jeff07w

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Sep 2, 2021
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Ca
Anyone have a pair of wing struts? My wings are ready to go on and the struts that came with the project don’t line up — neither the wrong ones or slightly bent

~jeff
 
Either the set I have is bent or from a diff airplane… they are about 6” forward (or aft) of the wing attach points …. After lining up a square with another citabria it seems that the correct angle is really close to 90 deg from the fuselage… mine angle is closer to 70 deg so when you swing it up to connect to the wing it is about 6” in front of the wing attach point
 
You may have a set of struts from an Aeronca Defender ...the lift struts attached to the fuselage in front of the main gear mount (as opposed to at the rear of the LG) and the strut swept forward slighty to line up with the front spar attach point.
Anyway; lift struts for Citabras stayed the same for decades so finding a good set shouldn't be too traumatic...
Good luck with your quest.

Chris
 
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I just ordered new lift struts from ACA for my Decathalon, I think they were $935 for the forward and $550 or so for the rears. Cheaper than buying car parts.
might not be bad to get some new ones as they are a bit important
 
I ordered a “heavy” set (front only) $750 each plus shipping… ACA said they only provide new struts for those who have upgraded to the metal spar. Not sure I understand why but oh well
 
jeff07w said:
I ordered a “heavy” set (front only) $750 each plus shipping… ACA said they only provide new struts for those who have upgraded to the metal spar. Not sure I understand why but oh well
Click to expand...
American Champion would like it if all the incarnations of the airplane prior to when they bought the type certificate would simply go away...it's a stupid business model but it's theirs.
Thankfully there are the aftermarket suppliers like Univar, Wag Aero and Rainbow to help keep the fleet in the air.

Chris
 
Hiperbiper said:
American Champion would like it if all the incarnations of the airplane prior to when they bought the type certificate would simply go away...
Click to expand...

They have been very helpful to me and my '78 Bellanca Super D with advice, parts, and upgrade kits to current TCDS specifications.

Their only red line is the wood spar. They will not do anything to suggest they support keeping those in the air . I suspect that position is part of some legal strategy to minimize their liability.
But update to metal spars and they will happily support older aircraft, up to and including full factory restoration.
 
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