G'day, i'm happy of talking with you about airplanes.

I have a doubt about an airplane that used to fly at my airport (MSSS) Ilopango, El salvador, but it crashed in 2011 i guess; it's very simmilar to a decathlon, and it's wings reminds me an aeronca

heres the photo: (copyright: wenner via facebook)



if you look, the landing gear is different of a bellanca decathlon or citabria, it's like the aeronca's, and the engine cowling is different of a bellanca.

they're narrower than the decathon ones



the tail... i never seen a tail like that... if you see the front of the tail, has the same shape of the tail of an aeronca champ, but in the back of the tail, it has a uncommon shape...



and it has flaps...



can you tell me if that is a modified aeronca, or it's another airplane that i cant recongize?....

thank you!

The early citabrias have oleo landing gear. Im guessing its an early Citabria GC.

the registration calls it a "champion", here is the accident report, but I can't read Spanish so I don't know if it says anything useful or not.

http://www.lapagina.com.sv/nacionales/5 ... -un-muerto

That looks a lot like my Champion 7GCB. The are a couple of differences though. My Champ has a rounded tail and rounded rear windows. My guess is if the plane had been repaired or restored they used Citabria parts. The rest of the airplane looks just like mine.

Early 7GCB Citabria.

MTV

The landing gear looks just like the "no bounce" Aeronca gear. (Grasshopper shown)

i'm starting to think that airplane was unique in it's type...

The very first "Citabrias" had the no bounce gear from the Champs, squared tail feathers and some had flaps.

American Champion made a gazillion slightly different planes, each with its own designation, it seems. Kind of like Waco in the old days.

I don't know how many of these they made before they switched to spring gear, but I've seen a couple of them, and almost bought one at Grant County in WA many years ago.

MTV

My 1960 Champion 7GCB is kind of mix. Citabria wing, flaps, Lycoming O-320, but really looks like a Champ with rounded cowl, tail and windows with oleo gear. I think Champion built 200 or so, maybe 50 still on the registry. There were a lot of variants around that time.