tail bracing help
 

Hello,

I'm building a Nosen/A&A 1/4 scale Citabria.
I plan to build the stabilizer as removeable left and right pieces that plug into the fuselage fin fillet area.

Here's my rather wordy question:

Will it be sufficient to use short 3/8" dia dowels at LE and TE of stab that plug into brass tubes going thru the fuse/fin fillet to locate and set stab incidence, while relying on the diagonal wire bracing that runs from bottom of fuse to TE tips of Stab, and up to TE tip of Fin to bear positive and negative lift loads on the tail?

Thanks for any advice!
-Elliot

1/4 scale Citabria
 

I have one of these kits on the way. I have a question for you. What do you think about this kit? I have been hearing horror stories about the quality of the wood. Sounds like you are well into the project and perhaps you can make me feel a little better about my purchase by telling me what you think of the kit thus far. Any comments would be appreciated!

tail bracing help
 

Oh! I forgot about this thread as no one answered it. I went ahead and made my mods anyways.

Dan, don't know if I can make you feel better, but i think the kit stinks. On the other hand, I recall seeing that A&A claims to be using laser cut parts now, so maybe the kit you have will be a good one. Please let us all know as up till now at least, all feedback on the kit aspect has been negative. Comments I've heard about the actual finished model have generally been positive (flying characteristices, etc.).

Assuming the kit you get is as bad as mine or others in this news group, then the following might apply:

1) If you have built a wood kit from plans only (cut all the parts out yourself), you should be ok, as you will likely want to replace about 75-80% of the wood. I photocopied the rib and former patterns and then spray mounted them onto the balsa or ply to be rough cut on the bandsaw and then sanded to exact contour on the belt/disk sander. Ribs were done in stacks of 6 I think.

2) Experience with building several previous wood kits would be benefitial as the instructions are very general and you will need to be able to figure out most of the construction from reading the plans.

I have posted my progress thus far, along with a few comments along the way at the following url:

http://www.elliotfan.com/art/flight/...ia/cit_01.html

Hope this helps Dan, and don't forget to let us know if the quality of your kit is better.

Regards,
-elliot

Thumbs Up
 

Hey Elliot, thanks for the info. I looked through the kit over the weekend and I am pleasantly surprised! The quality of the wood is very good and I might add that there is a LOT of wood there to look at. Yes, this kit is for the experienced builders out there, but I beleive that anyone who has built a kit other than an ARF should be able to get through this one with no problem. It is a BIG plane and I am considering a trade for something smaller at this time. If no deals are made, I will build it anyway. Maybe by the time I have it complete, I will have a semi to haul it in! LOL

Dan

stab
 

Gatorrc makes a nice removeable stab kit. you might check them out I used it on a Don smith B-17.

Joe