Am I ruined forever? Got to fly a Citabria

texasclouds

texasclouds

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Bryan, Texas
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Mark
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Coulter Airfield CFD
well I was 20 hrs into my ppl flying a 172S, when i decided to do some extra credit and also work on tail dragger. Saturday I flew 2.2 hrs with Joy at Texas Tail Draggers and within 5 minutes of being airborn I was hooked. I absolutely love flying that plane. Sunday I soloed the 172 in the pattern for 1.2 hrs. The plane I once thought was fun to fly now feels like an old mini van.
 
texasclouds said:
well I was 20 hrs into my ppl flying a 172S, when i decided to do some extra credit and also work on tail dragger. Saturday I flew 2.2 hrs with Joy at Texas Tail Draggers and within 5 minutes of being airborn I was hooked. I absolutely love flying that plane. Sunday I soloed the 172 in the pattern for 1.2 hrs. The plane I once thought was fun to fly now feels like an old mini van.
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A C172 is an old mini van.
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Even just beating up the pattern is fun in my Citabria. Somedays I wish it was a Mooney or C185, but then I pull up to the gas pump and smile.
 
The Citabria is a great airplane, I'd love to own one someday.
 
Bill Jennings said:
The Citabria is a great airplane, I'd love to own one someday.
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Yea, it seems like you can get a nice one for ~$30k. We were flying the 7GCBC Explorer with flaps. I'm going to finish my PPL and also get some time in the Decathlon (and a few other planes) before shopping for anything. I plan to get the tail wheel endorsement, spin training, and entry level aerobatics training asap.
 
texasclouds said:
Yea, it seems like you can get a nice one for ~$30k. We were flying the 7GCBC Explorer with flaps. I'm going to finish my PPL and also get some time in the Decathlon (and a few other planes) before shopping for anything. I plan to get the tail wheel endorsement, spin training, and entry level aerobatics training asap.
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It's pretty hard to beat a 7GCBC. It's a great STOL plane, comfortable, fun to fly, and aerobatic. Cheap to own/operate as well. If you get a decathlon you (somewhat) lose STOL and if you get a scout you lose aerobatics. 7GCBC is an all-round unbeatable plane.
 
texasclouds said:
Joy made me leave them at the hangar so I could feel the pedals better. I am SO HOOKED on tail draggers now!
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She did that to me too! No cowboy boots allowed! She is a delightful person, and a great instructor.
 
If you can find one, get an older one that's re-fitted with the full metal wing. They'll be more expensive, but you gain 100 lbs. of gross for almost no empty weight gain.

Jim
 
Used to teach 0-250hr students in citabrias one of the best trainers IMO.
 
Jim Rosenow said:
If you can find one, get an older one that's re-fitted with the full metal wing. They'll be more expensive, but you gain 100 lbs. of gross for almost no empty weight gain.

Jim
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I think you mean metal spar. To my knowledge there are not full metal wing (jacket?) Citabrias.
 
That 172 may be your best friend when coming home with moderate to severe turbulence only to find the wind crossing your runway at 35 kts from 60*. Different planes have different strengths. Conversely different planes have different weaknesses. Which works best for each of us depends on what we need.
 
Mtns2Skies said:
It's pretty hard to beat a 7GCBC. It's a great STOL plane, comfortable, fun to fly, and aerobatic. Cheap to own/operate as well. If you get a decathlon you (somewhat) lose STOL and if you get a scout you lose aerobatics. 7GCBC is an all-round unbeatable plane.
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And I can build up my left arm strength getting that last notch of flaps in... :)
 
Stewartb said:
That 172 may be your best friend when coming home with moderate to severe turbulence only to find the wind crossing your runway at 35 kts from 60*. Different planes have different strengths. Conversely different planes have different weaknesses. Which works best for each of us depends on what we need.
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Who says you have to land on the runway?
 
Mtns2Skies said:
I think you mean metal spar. To my knowledge there are not full metal wing (jacket?) Citabrias.
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Point conceded....American Champion went to metal spars in 1999, as I recall. Ours was retro-ed in 2000. The covering is not metal, and I mis-teriminologized . :)

Jim
 
And as a beginning student you feel you're ready to say that?

I relocated my bad-ass slat wing Supercub to it's new home a few days ago. I'm not new to this and I had my hands full in the bumps and crosswind. In my Cessna it would have been less stressful, and my Cessna is a taildragger. In a 172 it would have been easier still. Sometimes stress-less is a good thing. My words of wisdom for the morning. Use them or don't.
 
Mtns2Skies said:
It's pretty hard to beat a 7GCBC. It's a great STOL plane, comfortable, fun to fly, and aerobatic. Cheap to own/operate as well. If you get a decathlon you (somewhat) lose STOL and if you get a scout you lose aerobatics. 7GCBC is an all-round unbeatable plane.
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What's the STOL on the SuperDeke like?
 
Didn't know what fun was in an airplane (got PPL in a 172P) until I got a taste of acro and did my TW endorsement in the SuperD !:D
That was over ten years after getting my PPL.

Flying with a stick instead of a yoke just felt so much better as well. Probably from decades of using a joystick for my flight sim hobby.
 
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aftCG said:
A C172 is an old mini van.
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Even just beating up the pattern is fun in my Citabria. Somedays I wish it was a Mooney or C185, but then I pull up to the gas pump and smile.
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While your Citabria may be more exciting to fly, because it will do things the other planes listed won't do, compare actual fuel burn for a particular trip before crowing too loudly about fuel savings . . . . Sometimes higher fuel flow for shorter time actually uses less fuel.
 
Mtns2Skies said:
It's pretty hard to beat a 7GCBC. It's a great STOL plane, comfortable, fun to fly, and aerobatic. Cheap to own/operate as well. If you get a decathlon you (somewhat) lose STOL and if you get a scout you lose aerobatics. 7GCBC is an all-round unbeatable plane.
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That's why I bought a 7GCAA. Same as a 7GCBC but no flaps. Who needs flaps in a Citabria? I looooooooooove slips!!!
 
Jim Rosenow said:
If you can find one, get an older one that's re-fitted with the full metal wing. They'll be more expensive, but you gain 100 lbs. of gross for almost no empty weight gain.

Jim
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Jim Rosenow said:
Point conceded....American Champion went to metal spars in 1999, as I recall. Ours was retro-ed in 2000. The covering is not metal, and I mis-teriminologized . :)

Jim
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1991 or '92. We had a '96 7ECA that had metal spars right from new.
 
Once when we had too many new students in the school, we started a few ab initio on our Citabrias instead of the 172s. They got their PPL in the Citabria and then needed the 172 checkout. They found the Cessna totally boring. On the other hand, the 172 PPLs had to get checked out inthe Citabria and it took them 7 or 8 hours to figure out how to fly the thing. Waking up those feet takes time. It lends a lot of credence to the rule of Primacy: First impressions are the strongest, and things learned first are almost unshakeable. A 172 lets you fly with your feet flat on the floor, and we'd catch some students doing that.
 
If you even ask the question, you are 'ruined' already. You felt the joy of a Citabria. In my brief flying time (about 1000 hours) I've had the honor of sitting at the right seat controls of a DGA, a cabin Waco, an SR-8 and a Spartan Executive. As neat as they are, I do not lust for one because I am 'ruined'. Imagine that!
 
Mtns2Skies said:
Speaking of which... How's the tailwheel training going @LoLPilot ?
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Got my tailwheel endorsement earlier this month! Haven't flown the Decathlon since... it is down for maintenance (new propeller hub). Once it gets fixed I would like to confront my zero G fears and take some acro and spin training.
 
FWIW I really wish someone made an EAB that was a Citabria clone in the same manner that so many companies make EAB Cub clones...
 
LoLPilot said:
FWIW I really wish someone made an EAB that was a Citabria clone in the same manner that so many companies make EAB Cub clones...
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Sigh. I would give up a kidney for an experimental Citabria if it didn't cost me my medical
Hank S said:
While your Citabria may be more exciting to fly, because it will do things the other planes listed won't do, compare actual fuel burn for a particular trip before crowing too loudly about fuel savings . . . . Sometimes higher fuel flow for shorter time actually uses less fuel.
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Honestly a C185 will knock my Citabria into the dirt in all categories except at the gas pump. My hangar neighbor does so routinely but at nearly 3X the gal/hr

You're quite right that for a given distance a Mooney might prove more miles per gallon.

My real life flying time often comes in doses like "oh, it's nice outside and I have three hours", in which case my actual out of pocket expenses are quite modest.

Regardless, no one ever feeds you crap when you show up in a Citabria.
 
aftCG said:
Regardless, no one ever feeds you crap when you show up in a Citabria.
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I got a healthy dose of it when I taxiied my Citabria onto Embry Riddle's ramp in Daytona. It was arranged with the school, as I had a meeting there, but the students couldn't figure out why someone would WANT to fly something like that.
 
You’re probably ruined, but it’s okay. Ever since I flew dual in the Super Decathlon I’ve been hooked.
 
Why an EAB Citabria clone and not something interesting? Say, a Hiperbipe? Acro and a degree of cross country capability for two.
 
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