A few (more) pre-purchase questions

J

jstaloff

New member
Hello all,

I'm a low-time pilot looking to buy a Citabria for primary level aerobatics. Ready to spend $28-38k, I think I want to end up with something like a 7ECA from the 1970s with some time left on the engine.

There is a lot of great info here, hopefully you won't mind a few more newbie questions.

I've seen at least one Citabria advertized with dual controls and brakes. Which ones do and don't have?

Do all the Citabrias from the '70s have electric starters?

I've seen a 7ECA advertized with complete 2001 restoration and new wood spars. Was it possible to get new wood then? Where would they have come from? Should I be suspicious?

I understand Ceconite is better looking but Stits is lighter. How much lighter, and how much difference does it make? Which is more durable? Is Polyfiber the same as Stits? Are there other processes I should be aware of?

Thanks very much for your suggestions.

Jason Staloff
 
Hi Jason, the planes of the 70's should have starters unless they have been removed to lighten the plane (so ask), all sould have dual controls. New wood spars are available now and are original metal spars came in the 90's and are available as a STC retorfit. There sould be no real differnce in weight between Ceconite or Stitts (and yes Ploy-fiber is the same as Stitts), both systems have regular or light wt cloth. There really is no difference in looks between the systems what makes the difference is the type of finish coat that is used, the regular coat or a Hi-gloss paint, in my part of the country Stitts was/is the preferred covering as it tends to be more flexible in cold weather and was less prone to peeling and flaking. There are several other systems Super Flite for one, they are all about the same as far as durability. Good luck with your search.
 
Thanks, NMflyer, all very helpful.

I'm looking at a couple from 1968 and 1969, are they going to have electric starters as well? I presume that if a starter has been removed, it's simple enough to refit. That doesn't require an STC, does it?

Jason
 
Hi Jason, I would think that the starters would be installed, but if they have been removed it would be just a simple reinstalled if they were officially removed (A&P recorded in the logs that it was removed) then it would be a simple reinstall and sign off by an A&P. Good luck with the search, if there is one that you really like then have an A&P do a pre-buy inspection and order the FAA records CD it only cost $10.00 and its well worth the money.
GB
 
There is one very important difference between Polyfiber and Ceconite. Ceconite is flammable and Polyfiber is not. Ceconite also burns quickly. If you have a fire and your Ceconite covered cloth catches fire...well that just wouldn't be fun as steel tubes don't fly well by themselves. Superflite is a lot more like Polyfiber.
 
FYI-

Ceconite, Polyfiber/Stitts, and Superflight are all essentially the same fabric, they are all aircraft grade Dacron and will melt/fuse unless subject to open flame or very high heat. It is the actual coating that sustains the fire, Nitrate dope is very flamable, Butyrate dope much less so, with Superflight it depends on exactly which of the numbered covering systems is used.

Tom-
 
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