I have one as well. Take off rolls , must proceed slowly , watch for the leftward torque of he engine. You cannot take off quickly. Go slowly until the tail comes and Rudder is effective. Then a bit of up . You MIGHT be over compensating with rudder before the torque kicks in. Stiffer springs and some down may be a good thing.

Originally Posted by tciranni

Flew my Citabria for the first time yesterday. On take off roll the plane suddenly turned right 90 degrees. I think it is because the tail wheel springs are too weak. I plan to replace them with something much stiffer. Any one else having this problem.

I found what is likely my bigger problem here. I did not use the tires that came with the kit. I used Dubro low bounce wheels of the same diameter. I checked for clearance with the wheel pants while the plane was on a stand and all looked good. I neglected to check for clearance with the entire weight of the plane on the tires. The sidewalls are bulging and hitting the edge of the wheel pants. I made the wheel pant opening larger so hopefully that will solve the problem. A rookie mistake since this is my first giant scale gasser after flying glow for fifteen years. If it doesn't solve the problem I will use the tires that came with the plane as they are much harder.

One more thing that may help is to put a little toe-in to the gear. I've had 2 smaller Decathlons: 66" .46 glow size, and a 79" Seagull 20cc gasser. Both benefited greatly from bending some toe-in into the gear--made takeoffs MUCH straighter

I posted some info on the low bounce tire on RCG.

I am retiring my GP Citabria after about 100 flights . It is fine model , with some interesting flying characteristics. Example the nose drops when ever the rudder is used , thus making coordinated turns more complex than necessary. This is especially worrisome on landing and thus the presence of the flaps on the planes. At which point it becomes a bit of slow floater and very controlable.

My real reason for premature retirement is that it is slowly disassembling itself due to vibration. The basic reason is the first fuselage former ,upon which the motor box is mounted is not stiff enough. It flexes slightly and is also transmitting vibration back into the fuse. The vibration has open every joint in the former and is is breaking the longerons that are butted into it.

The more I repair these joint and cracks and stiffen them the further back the cracking occurs. It began by opening the joint between the motor box and former. I epoxied that joint tightly , but that didn't stop the former from flexing. It might have may it flex more. So now no energy is absorbed in that joint and it thus moved the distanced transmitted
further back into fuselage.

The problem is the material ( thin plywood) in the former is not stout or stiff enough.
I do not have the skill to replace it. I am not even sure I can remove it and not destroy it (Or the longerons butted into it), to able to use it as s templet. Even if if I could I am not sure I could make an accurate and stronger replacement part.

The engine in the Citbria is a DLE is a 30 cc with a balanced VESS prop and balanced spinner.

I also have a Hempel Cub with a VVRC 40 Twin in it. It is built like a tank and looks like it will last forever. My friend has one with a DA50 in it and a tuned pipe , He has had the same experienced with his.

Thought , ideas, comment suggestions are most welcome.

A buddy has one of these, and it's not what he had hoped for. It is very difficult to get on the ground without a bounce-fest, even for experienced pilots. He's tried different gear, wheels, tires, cg, etc... it's beautiful, but leaves something to be desired.

It sure is beautiful, but I sold mine after many problems and quirks. I did get it right before selling it, but it left a bad taste in my mouth like most GP planes I've had. They need to update their building and materials to the quality that we can get it almost every other brand

Lots of complaints about the wing struts, is the wing strong enough to fly without them? I am in the finishing point of my assembly, just need to mount rx and battery. Using a PTE 36 engine. My complaints so far are the wing mounting bolts don't line up, even a little bit. My plane had a fuselage former broken at the factory and when the covering was tightened, it pulled too tightly for me to repair without removing covering.the factory tires are typical arf fare and will be replaced with robart wheels. My rudder required a fair amount of sanding for a correct fit to the top of the elevator. Tail flying wires are not functional.

Has anyone used a DA35 in this Aircraft? If so, which muffler did you use? Thanks!

Hi.
I have installed DLE35RA plus EME autostart, everything fits perfectly.

Got one of these on the way. First, and perhaps last, Great Planes build - time will tell.

I understand from reading through this thread that a couple of know issues are present:

1. Landing Gear. Landing Gear strut was defective and weak on production models prior to 15DEC2014. (After this date Great Plane kits had the proper strength gear in the kit).

2. Engine. Engine Firewall all the way down along fuel tank needs re-enforcement for Gasser installation.

Question.

1a. How do I know if the model kit that I've received is with the modified (stronger) landing gear strut or not (pre 15Dec2014)?

2. Anybody with the O.S. GT33 had to make any modification to the cowl or anything?

Thank you Gentlemen,
C.

Originally Posted by yeager74

Got one of these on the way. First, and perhaps last, Great Planes build - time will tell.

I understand from reading through this thread that a couple of know issues are present:

1. Landing Gear. Landing Gear strut was defective and weak on production models prior to 15DEC2014. (After this date Great Plane kits had the proper strength gear in the kit).

2. Engine. Engine Firewall all the way down along fuel tank needs re-enforcement for Gasser installation.

Question.

1a. How do I know if the model kit that I've received is with the modified (stronger) landing gear strut or not (pre 15Dec2014)?

2. Anybody with the O.S. GT33 had to make any modification to the cowl or anything?

Thank you Gentlemen,
C.

I think you will still find the gear weak. I replaced mine with TNT and had it powdercoated.
My GT33 fits, been a while but I don't recall any major mods.

Originally Posted by rocket_33

I think you will still find the gear weak. I replaced mine with TNT and had it powdercoated.
My GT33 fits, been a while but I don't recall any major mods.

Thanks for your feedback. I've confirmed with the shop that the model I've received is with the "upgraded" landing gear. So, I'll give that a go - as it seems most flyers were happy enough with that.

I'll prob go with the GT33 as opposed to the GF30ii (2020 version) - since it will be helpful with a bit of extra power for aerobatics - though the GF30 would add nice scale sound and power characteristics. I also think the GT33 will fit better inside the engine cowling.

so this is season 7 with mine. I have changed out everything except the motor and servos. I switched to FrSky redundancy bus's with two A123 batteries and a TechAero IBEC. I also run two receivers. I decided to try a Deamon Cortex gyro as well though it does not need it. Every year I try to fly this thing the engine gives me fits (DLE35RA) I'm kind of at my wits end with it. Im not sure I want to by a new motor for it, as mentioned above the airframe is not that great. It would of been better suited as electric. Though beefing up the firewall/motor box area with tristock has helped considerably.

Engine runs great until I take it into the air and then it starts to sputter and lose power. I've cut a large cooling hole in the bottom. I've put a heat shield between the carb and the muffler. I tried running a velocity stack from air inside the fuse. It ran horribly, so I took that off.

I don't know that i'll sell it as the Citabria is one of my favorite airplanes. I used to own a full sized 7GCBC and man what a hoot that was.

Right now my main aerobatic plane is the H9 Pitts S2B with EME 70 twin. What a great plane. I don't get out to the field often so when things don't work, it makes me mad. I get why guys have electric planes..

Kind of a rant, sorry. I do love the looks of this plane and I'm partial to it because it's my first giant scale plane and first gas powered model.

Happy flying!

-Matt

Originally Posted by flyboywbl

so this is season 7 with mine. I have changed out everything except the motor and servos. I switched to FrSky redundancy bus's with two A123 batteries and a TechAero IBEC. I also run two receivers. I decided to try a Deamon Cortex gyro as well though it does not need it. Every year I try to fly this thing the engine gives me fits (DLE35RA) I'm kind of at my wits end with it. Im not sure I want to by a new motor for it, as mentioned above the airframe is not that great. It would of been better suited as electric. Though beefing up the firewall/motor box area with tristock has helped considerably.

Engine runs great until I take it into the air and then it starts to sputter and lose power. I've cut a large cooling hole in the bottom. I've put a heat shield between the carb and the muffler. I tried running a velocity stack from air inside the fuse. It ran horribly, so I took that off.

I don't know that i'll sell it as the Citabria is one of my favorite airplanes. I used to own a full sized 7GCBC and man what a hoot that was.

Right now my main aerobatic plane is the H9 Pitts S2B with EME 70 twin. What a great plane. I don't get out to the field often so when things don't work, it makes me mad. I get why guys have electric planes..

Kind of a rant, sorry. I do love the looks of this plane and I'm partial to it because it's my first giant scale plane and first gas powered model.

Happy flying!

-Matt

solder a tube onto the vent hole in the pump cover and run a hose back inside the fuse
You have carb issues from turbulence
I still have one of the Citabria,new in the box I need to put it together this summer