Balsa USA Citabria Pro Maiden
I built it from the BUSA kit but made a few changes from the plans.
I made the cabane struts removable, they slide into tubes built into the fuse and are secured in place with wheel collars. Making them removable makes building the rest of it easier, also if required, easier to adjust/repair.
I added 6" to the wing, one 3" bay to each end.
After it was framed up and assembled the negative incidence in the wing was very obvious. I checked with BUSA and was told that "the plans are correct". I couldn't buy that so I put a Robart incidence meter on it and measured 2+ degrees negative. I asked how other Pro owners had set theirs and got the full range of answers from leave it negative to 3 degrees positive. Using the Robart meter I set mine at 2 degrees positive.
I made my jury struts fully functional,,, just because.
I powered it with a new Zenoah G23 turning an APC 16/8 prop at 8800 rpm's.
I questioned the CG on the plans, some say 4 1/2" back from the leading edge and some say 3 1/2" back. With the G23 mine balanced at 3 5/8" with no lead anywhere.
Covering and trim is 21st Century fabric. All up dry weight came in at 12 3/4 lbs.
The maiden flight went beautifully. Takeoff run was nice and straight with little or no correction required. The tail comes up nicely, add just a touch of elevator and your flying.
The G23 has plenty of power for everything but unlimited vertical. It will hold full vertical for a few seconds then fall off.
Ailerons are effective, but set up plenty of throw.
I'm going to move the CG back to 3 3/4 to see how it acts.
Low speed stalls end with a mild snap. Had to hold a little throttle and do two wheel landings, no three point,,,,, yet.
I like to fly using lots of rudder, in my opinion it needs all of the rudder throw you can get or a larger rudder.
So far with the changes I've made I'm very satisfied with the plane. When the engine gets broken in I'll get more rpm's and try some different props.