planebuilder66

My Feedback: (8)

Hey guy's and gal's,
My question is pretty straight forward, who has a nosen citabria out there and what engine are you running in it? This is the 105" span one from A&A ind. and I already aquired the pants and cowl from FG specialties, would a 50cc twin be too much or should I tone it down to a G-38 or so forth. Just curious, any input would be gratefull,
Thanks,
Ray.

warbirdmustang

My Feedback: (21)

Buddy of mine just sold one with a Cheetah/ Quadra 42 in it, plenty of power for scalelike flight. G-38 will probably fly it just fine.
Good luck,
Bryan

Bass1

Mine flies great with a Saito 150!

planebuilder66

My Feedback: (8)

I think I might go with a 50cc twin, just want to try the engine out, I also have a hostetler bipe to build, it calls for a 3-6 cuin engine, and they recommend twin cylinder engines, but I can't see how it could possibly fit a 100cc twin in the cowl, maybe a inline 100cc but not an opposed twin.

Bass1

Planebuilder 66, That 50cc twin is going to be at least 2+ more pounds of weight than my 32 oz Saito 150. I can't imagine how mine would fly by adding that much more weight to it. I recently removed a pound of ballast from my airplane when I moved the elevator servos out of the tail to the cabin and that made an enormous difference in how the airplane flies (from a brick to a "floater"). These old Nosen Citabrias were originally designed for .60 size 2 stroke glow engines. Also with the stock landing gear and that huge 50cc engine you'll have serious prop clearance issues and not much of that pretty Fiberglass Specialties' cowl left.. Something to consider. If you want a nice flying (low wing loading) plane that flies "on the wing" You may want to reconsider your engine choice. Of course this is JMHO and experience with this model. Others may vary[8D]

planebuilder66

My Feedback: (8)

Yes, the engine I'm looking at weighs about 3 LBS, I remember my saito 1.80 I had was about 1.5 lbs, but that was bolted to the Cap I had in the avitar. I will know beter as I build it up, I'm replacing the stock gear it came with, I read that the first rough doink they splay and have to be bent back all the time. I just want to put it together once and not be tearing it apart over and over to perfect it.

rcnats

My Feedback: (56)

I'm putting a Q35 in mine. I asked the same question a while back. I was thinking about a Q50 but decided to put that in something else.

planebuilder66

My Feedback: (8)

I don't know, it's just that big 105" wingspan throws me for a loop. I had a GP Pitts a long time ago that had a G-45 in it, it seemed alright in the power department, and I have a review of the GSP super decathalon in a mag, they used a zenoah G25 and said the power was marginal. So if 50 cc is too much and 25 cc is too little, then somewhere around 30-40 cc sounds like a good compromise, or I could go with a saito twin, but I'd like to stay gas due to fuel costs of glow. Plus the reliability of gas is much more comforting than glow, not that I can't get any glow engine to run reliable, it's just the nature of a 4 stroke glow to need more tuning than a gas before every flight.

warbirdmustang

My Feedback: (21)

Years ago we had a fella in our club who flew one of these on a Supertigre 75, and it flew the plane around alright, just not much reserve power. I think we all tend to overpower our airplanes( me included) but sometimes it is refreshing to fly one powered somewhat scalelike, and fly it on the wing. I think something in the 30 cc class will provide ample power to fly this airplane fine for you. Mind you it's not going to fly like a Pitts, but then the real one doesn't either. The Citabria/ Decathlon is an Aerobatic trainer( Hence the name Citabria is Airbatic spelled backwards), and should fly somewhat like a cub or maybe a clipped wing cub on a mild dose of steroids.
Just my .02
Bryan

Bass1

Yeah it does sound like a rather large plane but the fuse is relatively small and stubby. A 1/4 scale J3 Cub is almost the exact same size and they both have flat bottom airfoils and have very similar flight characteristics. As far as a good "robust" landing gear for that model "TNT Landing Gear" makes a nice durable Nosen Citabria gear with longer legs to accomodate the larger props people are using with the larger engines. I'm using an 18/6 Mejzlick prop on my Saito 150 and it has more than adequate clearance.

planebuilder66

My Feedback: (8)

That's good news to hear about the gear from TNT, I think I'm starting to lean twards a 30-40cc gasser or a nice saito twin, realistically, I might fly it maybe a dozen times a year, so the glow fuel cost isn't going to be that bad, maybe a nice 3.0 twin glow.

Bass1

Yeah, I don't fly my Citabria nearly as often as my "gas" aerobats so the glow fuel thing doesn't bother me much for as little as I fly it... but when I do take it to the field I still enjoy the heck out of it!. Darn thing almost looks like a real one in the air and behaves like one as well! I always wanted the full scale version but back in the day all I could afford was a well worn Cessna 140.

planebuilder66

My Feedback: (8)

Yeah, I think this citabria is going to be more of a big lazy-day flier, at 66" long and 105" wingspan, it won't do any serious 3D moves, but it should be fun bringing it in doing touch and goes + flat turns and such forth. I don't care for unlimited vertical, just want a little more power in reserve to be able to pull out of a bad crosswind landing if I get blown off track and the rudder alerion crab isn't doing it. I measured the inside of the cowl, abot 8.5" at the rear and 8.25" where the engine sits, about 5" from center of spinner hole to bottom, so any good sized glow will fit in the hole, gassers will stick the plug out the bottom, but that's to be expected, even my pitts had the plug sticking out the bottom.

Flyright

My Feedback: (92)

I flew mine with a Q42. Plenty of power for loops, rolls, etc.

PLANE JIM

My Feedback: (109)

3d?-Scale model?

Rcpilot

My Feedback: (78)

I have one of these. I won't get to building it for a few years, but was also wondering about the engine size. I think a 35cc chainsaw conversion would do the job pretty well. I'm not sure if I can build it with the flat bottom airfoil. I might change it to symmetrical. Even semi-symmetrical would be better than a flat bottom wing. [:'(]

Bass1

Yeah, I seriously thought about doing a Bud Nosen "Decathlon" version instead of a Citabria but decided to stay stock. Definitely would consider a semi-symmetrical wing if I had it to do over again. It would be a relatively simple proccess and you'd still have a scale model especially with the Decathlon style cowl from Fiberglass Specialties.

Rcpilot

My Feedback: (78)

Yup. I just finished the Midwest Citabria (80" span) and wanted to make it look more like the Decathlon. That particular design has a semi-symmetrical wing. It's an easy bash from Citabria to Decathlon if you're not entering a scale contest.

Then it starts turning into a hot rod and I want to put more pony's on the firewall. (54cc Poulan) Little bigger ailerons, elevators and rudder. Couple extra hinges. Heavy duty control horns. Some strategic sheeting....... a gusset here and there. 80oz digital servos. You end up with a 13 pound Citathalon thats got 1600 square inches of wing and 5hp. [sm=lol.gif]

Edited to correct some incorrect info. Thanks Bass 1 [8D]

carlgrover

I used to fly with a guy who had one and flew it on a Supertigre .90. It flew fine. Anything more than that will be plenty. Personally, I wouldn't put anything bigger than a real small gas engine if not just a good sized 4 stroke.

Twin_Flyer

My Feedback: (4)

I know this is an old thread, but I just picked up one of these today. Unfinished.

Came with a glow engine in it. I will either go with a four-stroke or gas.

I'm leaning towards gas. Q35? Old school plane should have an old school engine, right? Might be a good candidate for a Ryoby conversion as well.

Anyone flown one lately?

Thanks,
Bill S>

mstcitabria73

My Feedback: (1)

deleted

speedracerntrixie

My Feedback: (29)

I would go with a DLE 30

Highflight

My Feedback: (4)

I've built several airplanes from A&A. Two of the Citabria and one of the big Champ. Each of them flew very strong with Q42's, and that engine cowled in very nicely needing only the bottom of the cowl left open for the exhaust pipes and for a cooling exit.

Q42 or G38 is the way to go with this vintage kit.

I've still got a spare Citabria and a Champ kit in the pile somewhere that I intend to build "someday", and they will be getting my spare Q42's for power when that day comes.

ahicks

My Feedback: (2)

I have one I haven't flown in many years. When mine was new, the 2500 Supertigers had just been released, so that's what we used. Ran an 18x6 on it and it was PLENTY of engine with no balancing issues. G38 sounds nice, but I wouldn't use one unless I already had it. Too fat, wouldn't suit how I wanted to fly the plane. I'd go with one of the newer generation engines somewhere in the 26-35cc range to save a couple pounds?

Bass1

Know what you mean by "too fat". My little low profile Saito 150 fits beautifully in the cowl with minimal cowl hackage and does the job well and also has the added benefit of that nice 4 stroke sound. With the wrap around pitts muffer and a couple of silicone exhaust extensions, I get zero glow fuel slime on the airplane. If I were set on a gas engine ( and beleive me, I've really considered going gas with this plane), I'd probably go with a DLE 30 but I suspect I would have to remove quite a bit more of the pretty cowling for clearance. Be cheaper in fuel costs that's for sure...