Spades for Citabria - Pros & Cons

F

FLYINGV

New member
I've been told that adding spades to my 7GCAA will be like adding power steering. Will they also increase roll rate? How much difference do they really make in the amount of stick pressure required to do a roll?

Other than the cost of the spades, are there any "cons" to adding them to the airplane? Would they increase or decrease the stress on the airplane? It seems to me they would certainly decrease the stress on the controls...

I'm just a beginner in aerobatics, so any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks, Brian
 
Spades will noticibly reduce stick force in the roll mode, but sooner or later you'll bang your head on one. It hurts. Most definitely worthwhile nonetheless.

Hag
 
The only 'con' is that you can reach max deflection of the aileron quicker. Thus you can load it quicker. This does not have a short term effect. So, its not really much of a 'con.'
 
Mike:

No fabric work involved at all; a simple bolt-on operation, but the adjustment will take several test hops.

Regards,
 
Put a set of Pash spades on my 7GCBC. Very noticeable improvemnt in stick forces. As others have said, no negatives other than when you walk into one. OUCH!!!!
 
OK, you guys have convinced me. I see an advertisement in B-C Contact for spades from Harlan Flying Service. I also assume American Champion sells them.

Are all spades created equal? I plan on making some calls today to get prices...
 
The old style oleo gear would cut your cruse a hell of a lot more, so, you could just compare those two cruses and figure that it will be in between there somewhere.
 
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