Champ wood spars. His website is here .

Champ wood spars And retain the 1977 wing root fairings. Champion Aircraft Company made a handful of 7GCBC aircraft in 1985-86, but any liability ACA may have ever had for those aircraft would have ended in 2004. The metal spar STC is for Citabria/Champ airframes only so there's no STC path to metal spars and even then, the Milman metal spars don't provide for a gross weight increase. The leading edge kit sounds like a good idea, so add $1100. Jan 31, 2024 #15 Does the Pash STC specify wood spars only, or does it just give a serial number range? My old Std Decathlon VH-JIR SN 528-79. Including all necessary spacers, drill jig and screws for attaching rib flanges. Wood spars aren't an issue in Florida. I own a 1968 Champion Citabria with the original wood spars. Over the years I have had the opportunity to see many a sitka spruce tree in SE Alaska and they are impressive. New posts Search forums. Thread starter Joe Renda; Start date Feb 14, 2024; J. Joined Mar 27, 2018 Messages 3,985 I have a 1970 Citabria 7GCBC Serial no 285 with wooden spars, nail mods done and spar still good, aileron spades installed as per STC. The Champ has tandem seating like the Piper Cub, but the Champ can be soloed from the front seat, which gives improved forward visibility, particularly during takeoffs, landings, and climbs. Sure feel free to post questions. * * * Just having a scarf style doubler on his new and improved wood spars at the wing attach fittings made a huge difference in durability. You can stress a piece of wood a million times and it’s just as strong as it was to start with, as long as you Most Champs were built with wooden spars, but American Champion has made aluminum spars available for retrofit installation on older aircraft. aeronca spars yes when I was rebuilding my 7ac wings with aluminum spars my old wood spars were like that stacked 3 high and glued infact that was the problem with mine when inspecting mine we noticed black dust like powder on one side about 1in every foot or so and on the otherside for about 3 ft long in between the glued boards they where coming The bottom line: You can’t buy approved data to build up Aeronca or later Champion wood spars. Should I be looking for one with a metal spar and curious on how old the fabric can be to get some more good years. Stay with wood spars if your IA will let you do the annual spar AD. Our STC aluminum spar conversion kit uses all of the existing parts from the aircraft’s wings, except of course for the wood spars. Today, American Champion is anxious to get wood wings off the market and offers an attractive price to Greetings, I'm a new member and also new to working on full-size airplanes. The spar kit is $4k. Including all necessary I think that folks replace spars at rebuild because they think wood just naturally deteriorates - but it doesn't. Through the over head inspection Requires inspecting the front and rear wood spars for damage, including installing any as-needed inspection holes; and repairing or replacing any damaged wood spar. Ken "Cowboy" Winiarski C/O Cowboys Air Ranch (84ME) N11667 Citabria 7ECA . Champ/Citabria/Decathlon General Discussions; Wooden spars and rain. There’s also the possibility of a strut corrosion , In 1992 American Champion started delivering Decathlons, followed a year later by the Scout. Jun 12, 2024 #4 Flying low and slow with the occasional whiff of honeysuckle through the open cabin window is what flying an Aeronca Champ is all about. Staff member. Practically new Aeronca Champ all completely rebuild (360 since complete rebuild) finished in 2007 with buzz wagner conversion, updated to Lycoming 0-235 115hp engine and electrical system new wood spars and fabric airplane in excellent condition and ready to fly anywhere. That's the real issue with wood spars on the Aeronca/Champion/Bellanca series of aircraft and the reason for the AD. ) If you're converting your Citabria's wood spar wings to aluminum using Milman's STC then you'll follow their directions and move things right along. So it’s all a trusty ruler for the ribs! Bartman Administrator. The plane appears to be in really good condition but the covering is 12 years old (paint still looks quite nice) and the wood spars are original. Thread starter Thumper; Start date May 26, 2021; Thumper Member. Considered an upgrade over original wood spars mostly due to the way the doubler plates at the strut attach points are designed to distribute stresses more evenly into Are your wing spars made of wood and do they have cracks, heading for failure? Our kit comes complete with STC papers, installation instructions, two front and two rear spars predrilled from our master fixture. Read the wood spar A. Citabria Series. There are both wood and aluminum spacers. There did not seem to be the angst about wood then. I have taken all the nails and bolts out Home. The square tail is probably a result of the higher hp. Joined Jul 14, 2023 Messages 25 Location Eugene, OR. Joined Apr 4, 2018 Messages 3,269. Finished Spruce spars. But you can still buy FAA/PMA replacement spars for those older makes and models. Ron will tell you they have no problems with Decathlon wood spars. First off, with 108hp, that puts you over the 90hp AD (if still wood spars), so you will have to inspect all 4 sides of the spar every annual. I have 2 wood wing wounders and when friends are flying next to me and start to complane about turbalance I take another drink from my open contaner( non acholic) :lol: :lol: :lol: Hello: Ready to install the inspection rings for my 7 GCAA wings that have new Wood Spars. Joined Sep 10, 2020 Messages 21 For about the first 50 years of aviation, airplanes had wood spars (among other parts). After reading the AD, I am On another forum, I saw somone making the comment that aluminum spar champs have a significantly lower useful load. Given how ACA jumped on the wood wing spar SB and AD, when there were to my knowledge only a couple failures (and all on aircraft with over turn or wing tip strike histories), I get the feeling their intent with 125 and Note 13 was to strongly imply that metal I own a 1974 7GCBC, it has wood spars and I replaced the engine years ago with the LYC O-320 B2B, I didn't realize at the time that only the metal spar 7GCBC's were approved to have the 160 HP O-320 B2B engine. 160HP Adventure. Hi guys, I have a set of J-5 wings and I want to remove the spars from one wing to revarnish or possibly replace. 210HP Denali Scout. In fact, cheap timber is often a false economy, as anyone who has had to deal with excessive knots, warped joists or splitting timber knows. When I bought it (2001 from memory) the fabric was in poor shape. Champion Timber - Specialist Timber Merchant Good quality timber is a joy to work with and creates a better job. After opening up the wing to get the tank out, A&P found 5 drilled holes into the top of my otherwise immaculate Rainbow front spar from 2000 - the damage seems to have come from a tank install in 2013. As long as the wood was correctly varnished and the wing covering is intact, they will last nearly indefinitely, or until the first ground loop. They are good to go. D. 00) and Rainbow (Wood at $500. Traditionally the Champion line of aircraft used wooden wing spars nailed to aluminum ribs as the primary wing structure. Wood spars dampen turbulence? Thats a new one Thats not a new one if you fly wood wing wonders. I wish I could install Spades on my 72 Citabria 7ECA with wood spars, but no such luck. Hidden damage from unrecorded ground contact. Metal or wood spar. Joe Renda New member. I'm not to pleased about the AD and inspections (also the ease at which it appears the Citabria can be grounded). Bob Turner Well-known member. Many wood structure covered bridges have been standing for over 100 years with just a little routine maintenance. These spars are STC'd and FAA approved. 180HP Scout. But here's the kicker. There are a few . It was rebuilt about 8 years ago and the wood spars were in excellent, repeat excellent condition considering the life the airplane had prior to the rebuild project. The wood spars had a rectangular cross section, the aluminum spars are an I-beam so the spacers make the thickness of the I-beam match the wood. Looks like the excess glue and varnish have detached from the spar face. You will love this aircraft. 210HP Xtreme Decathlon. Scout Series. Keep the moisture content in the normal range with good varnish, Looking at a possible purchase (1966 Citabria) and have a concern about the wooden spar. including PMA-approved wooden wing spars), Superior Air Parts and the Citabria people at American Champion Aircraft. To allow the proper fit, ©2020 by American Champion Aircraft. He said he had seen wood spars take massive damage and not fail completely. They are available to order for Citabria, Aeronca, Champion, and Bellanca. A backer plate under the fabric and a 11905 Road 4 NE, #10 Moses Lake WA 98837 (509) 765-1606 ronp@qosi. What is the general opinion here concerning wood spar Citabrias and aerobatics? I'm using one with the wooden spars right nowabout 2,200 TT, spars inspected every 100 Buy and install Milman aluminum spars. I would not replace good wooden spars. A few examples of the spacers used to mount the old ribs & fittings to the new aluminum spars. Rainbow Flying Service received Parts Manufactures Approval (PMA) for our new design wing SPAR for the 7, 8 and 11 Series Airplanes. I will try to get a picture of the inspection covers. The myriad Polyfiber products listed to cover two Do any of you guys know of where to get spars for a 7GCBC Citabria besides Milman (Aluminum at $4150. Basically it is an STC that replaces the wood spars with metal spars. Put the screws in and you all set. Ron hopes to make 200 spars from this wood. Harbi Registered User. Razorback in black and yellow. Removing wood spars. Are you the owner of an Aeronca, Champion, Bellanca Are your wing spars made of wood and do they have cracks, heading for failure? Our kit comes complete with STC papers, installation instructions, two front and two rear spars predrilled from our master fixture. However, my experience is limited to the vagaries and pitfalls of reg writing. That’ll be enough to supply 25 aircraft, at four spars per plane. Oh, and do what Ron says about mounting the upper skylight. I have taken a new pilot position and need to sell one of my two planes. In short the plane was a heavily used primary trainer and also used to teach basic aerobatics for over 25 years. While aluminum spars are available, Ron points out that “wood doesn’t fatigue like aluminum. Wood flexs more in turbalance. I'm kind of scratching my head here, is there really a substantial weight difference between wood spars and the milman aluminum replacement spars? Doesn't seem like it would be much. net Champ/Citabria/Decathlon Videos Rainbow Spar Load Testing he holds STC's for a series of wood spar products that are widely viewed as an improvement over the factory design. It had Milman spars installed years prior. Also true with wood spars, just a good inspection regiment and hanger storage will deliver decades and hours of safe use. ACA owns the 7AC type certificate and offers a new Champ. Can they still be installed legally? B. While none of these improvements by him gets rid of the A. This results in having to cut several holes in the wing, top and bottom. Forums. I still prefer sitka spruce wood spars. LarryHL Active member. Nov 14, 2006 The restriction is not to mix BHM STC metal spars with wood spars or non-BHM metal spars. This change is the core difference between new aircraft and older models (1980 and older). If you mark the new spars with the rib locations before you disassemble the wing panels, you can just cut up the old spars to get them out of the way but, either way, you'll have to fully disassemble the wing outboard of the doublers to get the new spars into place. Thread starter Harbi; Start date Nov 14, 2006; H. Hugh, The gross weight increase comes from the new wings so there aren't any options to get that with wood spars, AFAIK. Tok, Alaska. Champ/Citabria/Decathlon Tech/MX Area; Restoration/Rebuild Project Threads ‘67 Citabria 7GCAA When I looked at the new wooden spars, only the holes for fittings are drilled. The wood ones come pre-sealed and the aluminum spacers are primed. Wood spars are not failing anyway near the rate you are reading or hearing in conversation. 180HP Super Decathlon. If the spars are in good shape. I'm not well versed on Champ wing tanks but broken baffles in both tanks tells me maybe it was a good idea to swap out the spars! Broken baffles were a problem for a period of time in newer Decathlons that were being snap rolled with partially filled fuel tanks, if I remember correctly. Good luck in your sale. L. This changed in 1990 when American Champion Aircraft redesigned and certified this structure with aluminum spars. My customer would I have been doing the deep dive on wood spars for these aircraft for years and would appreciate pics, hours on the airframe and if they are original spars as far as you know. 1994 saw the reintroduction of the 7GCBC Citabria, Home; Forums; Champ/Citabria/Decathlon Tech/MX Area; Technical Resource Documents (TCDS, STC, AD, etc. Pretty basic installation. A word of caution; before making any firm decision about you spars find an EAA group near you and find someone who knows wooden aircraft structureswhile there are many on this forum who are versed in wood spars its still guys looking at pictures on the Champ/Citabria/Decathlon Tech/MX Area; Restoration/Rebuild Project Threads '68 Citabria 7ECA The problem is that the wood spars fit through but the new aluminum ones won't and any contact between the ribs and the spars is bad for the spars and, therefore, Champion replaced the wood with metal in the 1990’s, but still lost a few aircraft before the new spars were slightly redesigned. My old wood spars didn't come out without a lot of persuasion but prying the We have a large supply of salvage and surplus parts for these aircraft. His website is here the compression cracks/failure are the primary failure mode for how the spars are designed/loaded, Champ/Citabria/Decathlon Tech/MX Area; Technical Resource Documents (TCDS, STC, AD, etc. I'm going to embark on re-covering a 1966 Citabria with its owner and need to get some publications or website links that have information on covering aircraft. This particular aircraft has damage history -1983 hard landing - collapsed gear A new FNG here to the forum looking for input on rebuilding an old set of wings with new wooden spars from Rainbow Flying Services. Fresh MPI done now in Des23. Looking forward to following your Champ rebuild. No compression cracks. Some idiot had put a Super Decathlon decal on the cowling - when I changed the registration and got a new Flight Manual (as rules had just changed), CASA refused to believe that it was a Std Decathlon as their data Way too straight to be a crack IMPO. That way you can change the windshield without removing the wings. 00 a piece). This Citabria has wooden spars and we may convert to You really believe that a 125 lbs wood wing goes to 225 lbs with the same I-beam spar? If you find someone to disassemble your old wings, assemble the parts on your new spars, then cover and paint it for $6000, make him your best friend. Milman also makes a leading edge STC that can only be installed if you also have their spars. Joined Feb 13, 2024 Messages 1 Location Ocala fl. 118HP Aurora. There are a few things to watch for when looking for a Citabria, most notably the wooden wing spars found in pre-1990s models. Total airframe time 2800 hours engine is a 0-320 A2B with 370 These were installed on a former wood wing airplane. Decathlon Series. ) Hey all, I am (or maybe was, dang it) the proud new owner of a 1977 Super D and not but 30hrs into ownership the tank started leaking. , but still unclear how many inspection holes I need on the underside of the wing in order to be able to adequately inspect the spars at annual time. Feb 14, 2024 #1 I’m looking to purchase a Citabria. Hello Wade, fellow Champ driver and late night dog letter-outter here. tanf fif qbfsa ymsv xpk ydhcq nob yrnr mygooo scsnlcap thxu ocwelmb upf xlhlb akspld