hello,

I just ordered the sig citabria. new to building and to r/c plane's

I was hoping that anyone who has or built this model can offer some info.

I hope someone can help,

I went to sig sight and did some searching, but some of the info I am seeking I have not found yet.

what size tires to get for front and rear ?

what size or shape of gas tank to get ?

I was thinking a .40 2 cycle, will this be to small and is there a particular MFG that is good to go with. I see the .40 is with in the limits but I see some have used bigger engines.

what prop size is recommended ?

Some of this info may be in the instructions, since I just ordered I do no thave much info yet.

has anyone angled the wings at all like a trainer ?

I read some where that the wing struts can be a problerm, if removing the wing alot for transport. I saw somewhere that someone used quick dis-connects. Since screws and soft wood = stripped of loose screws.

any thoughts on that would be great.

thanks

sporty

You could try a search function here as occasionally this model is discussed. Otherwise go to: http://webpages.charter.net/rcfu/

and click on "kit reviews" on the left side, then on "Sig Citabria".
Good Luck.

When you get the kit you will find that most of your questions will be answered as it have what size tires to use etc etc.

I thought the kit might have that info,

I was hoping to find out if that is what was used buy the ones who have built them. I have seen where some have made changes.

And I thought I might try and get a few things before the kit comes.

thanks,

sporty

well I started building the sig citabria.


I have posted soem pics and so forth on another forum.
http://www.********.net/forums/showt...2&pagenumber=1


However,

I am not very impressed with the plans and manual. Missing info that has made it very hard to follow or ger right at times. I also feel the full size plans are not very accurate.

I pinned down the wood when building the wings, left,right,center section.

When I went to join them up, the center cestion was off more than a 1/4 of a inch. So I have to fix this.

They only give plans for right side fusealge and when doing the left it was difficult to mark the marking that needed to be made. tip- get a transparent paper and trace out and mark them, then flip it over and set the left side fuselage on.

It took me over two hours just marking all the bulsa sticks that were not marked with a ruler and tape measure.

the F-2 front fueslage brace was also not right, I had to do additional cutting on it to fit into the front brace on the fuselage. Three layer plywood and splinters really easily.

I also found on page 2 of the manaul, stating that the photos in the manual do not match up with the plans, they were photos for the old plans and they never re-did the manual photos for the new plans.

You notice this as you go along the proccess and see measurements and so forth not mentioned either on the plans or manual, the fuselage bracing length is not mentioned, 6 on top and 9 on the bottom.

Certainly I feel that they could have fixed this since 1987, printed date on manual

no mention either of using two servos for the ailerons instead of the bellcrank/pushrod system.

just my view

sporty092000

Sporty -

The Sig Citabria is one of the older kits on the market. It flies well and builds light, but it is not a 'shake the box and it falls out' 3D-jigsaw puzzle like some modern kits.

Bob

Sporty-

I built the Citabria back in 1976 and competed with it in the Stand Off Scale event at the 1976 Nats (at Wright Patterson AFB).
At the time I used a Veco 50 (no longer made) which didn't have too much power as it was an old engine, but it flew it well.
Couple of years later I changed it out to a OS40FSR - more than enough power. You won't go wrong with a 40.

After competing with it a number of years (and doing well) I put aside and didn't fly it. Last year I donated it to the local airport where it now hangs from the operations office ceiling .

Good luck!

Maine Bear

I built this one a few years back and put in an old 0.S. .60 4 stroke. I used coverite and paint for the finish so it was a little heavy. As you can see it had a clown theme and I used it in our air show team events.

It flew very well and quite scale-like on that engine. I would think any .40 two stroke would do the same.

I do not remember any particular difficulties in building it. It is a builder's kit. Just go slow and ask questions if you get stuck.

The struts mount to the wings with screws and to the fuselage with quick links. It is not particularly difficult to field assemble, but there are a lot of hints and tips out there on making quick disconnects you could probably use.

It is a good, honest flier. I think you will like it.

Sporty,
I too have built the SIG Citabria and I will tell you that it is a sweet flying aircraft. I put a Magnum .52 four stroke in mine and it had gobs of power for anything I wanted to do. That little engine runs great, sounds great, and will not kill you in the wallet when you buy it. I did a sunburst pattern and it was easy to see in the air and looked great on the ground. Take my advice however, and beef up the center section of the wing a little. My wing eventually folded while I was pulling out of a loop and the airplane was totaled. But it was one of the better flying airplanes I have ever had to that point. The wing folding was my fault as I failed to throttle back at the down-side/bottom of the loop. But, I would add a little reenforcement in the center section just the same if I were to build the airplane again. Razorback11