Models / American Champion / Citabria
Updated this morning · Oct 18, 2026
American Champion Citabria: prices, price cuts and days on market
21 are for sale on Barnstormers today, with a median asking price of $69,900. Half of the ones that come down do so within 31 days, and 10 sellers cut price in the last 30 days.
The Citabria market this morning
What does a used Citabria ask right now?
With 21 for sale this morning, the American Champion Citabria is the 10th most-listed piston type on Barnstormers. 7 were listed in the last 30 days and 11 came down, slower churn than the piston singles average. 3 of them are in AL.
Asking prices run from $17,500 to $330,000, and half of the 17 priced listings sit between $46,500 and $140,000. The median is $69,900, 32% below the piston singles median of $102,249. Age matters: 1960s airframes ask a median of $60,000 against $187,500 for the 2000s, with the 1970s at $60,000.
10 sellers cut price in the last 30 days, 48% of the live fleet against 27% across every type we track; the average cut took 8% off the ask. Of the Citabrias we watched appear, half came down within 31 days.
Written from this morning's figures and how they compare with the other types on the site. It changes as the market does.
By variant
| Variant | Seen | Live | Median ask |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7ECA | 15 | 4 | $46,200 |
| 7GCBC | 12 | 3 | $55,000 |
| 8KCAB | 4 | 0 | — |
| 7KCAB | 4 | 3 | $46,500 |
| 8GCBC | 2 | 1 | $199,000 |
Only listings whose title names a variant. Median is over live, priced listings of that variant.
Asking price distribution
Asking prices as typed by the seller. "Call" and "make offer" are counted as unpriced.
Median asking by decade
| Built | Seen | Median ask | Cut rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 9 | $60,000 | 11% |
| 1970s | 9 | $60,000 | 33% |
| 1980s | 1 | $135,000 | 0% |
| 1990s | 4 | $139,000 | 25% |
| 2000s | 4 | $187,500 | 0% |
Year is read from the seller's title, so 47% of Citabria listings don't have one. They count everywhere else on this page but not in this table.
Be first to the next Citabria that lists or drops
One Telegram message the morning a Citabria appears in your budget, and another the day a seller cuts, with days listed and where the ask sits against these 21. Free during beta.
Buyer's notes
About the American Champion Citabria
What it is
The Citabria is the Champ grown up. Champion Aircraft introduced the 7ECA in 1964 as an aerobatic two-seat tandem taildragger built on the old Aeronca 7-series tube-and-fabric airframe, with a name that spells "airbatic" backwards. Bellanca took over the line in 1970 and built the bulk of the fleet through 1980. American Champion Aircraft revived it in the early 1990s with metal wing spars and has built it in small numbers since.
It flies like a Champ with more engine and a stiffer spine. Positive-G aerobatics only on most of them (loops, rolls, spins, hammerheads), no inverted systems, and a roll rate that is leisurely by modern standards. Owners like it because it does what a weekend pilot wants: grass strips, tailwheel instruction, and a loop on the way home.
Variants that matter for price
The 7ECA is the base model, 100 hp for the first couple of years and 115 hp Lycoming O-235 for most of the run; American Champion calls the current one the Aurora. The 7GCAA carries a 150 hp O-320 (160 hp in the new ones) on the short wing without flaps, and the 7GCBC has the same engine on a longer wing with flaps, which is the one buyers want for short fields and floats; the new-production version is the Explorer. The 7KCAB added inverted fuel and oil and led directly to the 8KCAB Decathlon. Sellers write them as 7ECA, 7GCAA, 7GCBC and 7KCAB.
Metal spars are the big divider. A Bellanca-era airplane with the metal spar conversion, or a 1990s and later American Champion build, asks clearly more than a wood-spar airplane of the same age and engine.
What buyers check
Wood spars are the first question on any Citabria built before the revival. There is a well-known mandatory inspection for cracks in the wood spars around the strut and compression-strut fittings, and airplanes that failed it either got metal spars or got parked. Ask which. Then fabric: what it was covered with, when, and whether the fuselage tubing was cleaned and treated at the time. The lower longerons, the tail post and the gear attach clusters are where rust shows up.
Aerobatic use is the other thing to read the logs for. Look at how many hours were flown by a school or in competition. The spring gear needs its bolts and fuselage fittings checked after a hard landing. The O-235 and O-320 are both cheap to overhaul and easy to find parts for. A starter, an alternator, a modern radio and a transponder are assumed on a 150 hp airplane; their absence is a deduction.
Who it suits
The Citabria suits a pilot who wants a tailwheel airplane they can teach in, fly off grass, and roll on a nice evening, without inverted systems or an aerobatic budget. It is a poor traveling airplane, useful load is tight with two people and full fuel, and a serious aerobatic pilot outgrows it fast. The realistic cross-shop is the 8KCAB Decathlon for more aerobatic capability, the Super Cub or 8GCBC Scout for short-field work, and a Champ if you just want the tailwheel part.
How much does a used American Champion Citabria cost?
Asking prices on Barnstormers this morning run from $17,500 to $330,000, and the median is $69,900. The middle half of the 17 priced listings sit between $46,500 and $140,000. These are asking prices, not sale prices.
How many American Champion Citabrias are for sale right now?
21 on Barnstormers as of Oct 18, 2026. 7 were listed in the last 30 days and 11 came down. PlaneSnipe has tracked 57 since Jul 19, 2026.
How long does a American Champion Citabria take to sell?
Half of the Citabria listings we watched appear came down within 31 days. Delisted is not the same as sold; the ad may have expired or been relisted.
How often do American Champion Citabria sellers cut the price?
10 price cuts in the last 30 days against 21 live listings, averaging 8% off the previous ask. Cuts are logged when the asking price drops between two consecutive mornings.
Last 30 days
Which Citabria sellers cut their price in the last 30 days?
| Aircraft | Where | Listed | Asking |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 Citabria 7gcbc Metal WingOct 14 | NJ | 22 d | $49,500$42,500−14% |
| 1974 Citabria 7gcbc Metal WingOct 6 | NJ | 22 d | $50,000$49,500−1% |
| 75 Citabria 7eca,Oct 6 | — | 71 d | $70,000$59,000−16% |
| 1977 Super DecathlonOct 3 | CA | 59 d | $105,000$95,900−9% |
| Citabria 7kcabOct 2 | MO | 91 d | $86,000$85,000−1% |
| 1974 Citabria 7gcbc Metal WingOct 1 | NJ | 22 d | $54,500$50,000−8% |
| Restored Citabria 7ecaSep 30 | NH | 91 d | $45,000$39,900−11% |
| 1974 Citabria 7gcbc Metal WingSep 27 | NJ | 22 d | $57,000$54,500−4% |
| Citabria 7gcbcSep 26 | WI | 31 d | $70,000$69,900−0% |
| 1995 Citabria Explorer 7-gcbcSep 23 | MA | 49 d | $175,000$155,000−11% |
For sale now
Which Citabrias are for sale right now?
Newest first. Days listed is counted from the morning we first saw the ad; listings that predate Jul 19, 2026 show the day we started watching.
| Aircraft | Where | Listed | Cuts | Asking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 Ballanca Citabria 7eca | NY | 11 d | – | $65,000 |
| American Champion 7eca | WA | 12 d | – | $17,500 |
| Citabria 7kcab 1972 | AZ | 12 d | – | $43,000 |
| 1966 Citabria 7gcbc | ND | 19 d | – | $69,900 |
| 1974 Citabria 7gcbc Metal Wing | NJ | 22 d | 4 | $42,500 |
| 2000 Scout 8gcbc | MS | 24 d | – | $199,000 |
| 2004 Citabria | PA | 24 d | – | see ad |
| Super Decathlon | IN | 32 d | – | $330,000 |
| 1992 Aca Super Decathlon | MD | 36 d | – | $124,000 |
| 1995 Citabria Explorer 7-gcbc | MA | 49 d | 1 | $155,000 |
| 1977 Super Decathlon | CA | 59 d | 2 | $95,900 |
| New 2026 Super Decathlon | AL | 62 d | – | see ad |
| 1973 7kcab Citabria For Sale | FL | 73 d | – | $46,500 |
| 2026 Super Decathlon Demo | AL | 80 d | – | see ad |
| 1973 Citabria 7gcbc | UT | 91 d | – | $55,000 |
| Ready 2 Buy Citabria Or Scout | NV | 91 d | – | $150,000 |
| 1965 Citabria 7eca | — | 91 d | – | $52,500 |
| Super Decathlon 1992 | TX | 91 d | – | $140,000 |
| Citabria 7kcab | MO | 91 d | 1 | $85,000 |
| Restored Citabria 7eca | NH | 91 d | 2 | $39,900 |
| Factory New Super Decathlon | AL | 91 d | – | see ad |
Cross-shop
What else does a Citabria buyer look at?
Other American Champion types with a page here, then the same class at a similar asking price.
Geography and method
Where are the Citabrias, and how are they counted?
Where they are
How we count
Barnstormers piston categories are read once a day. A listing is "delisted" after it is missing on two consecutive mornings. Days listed starts the morning we first saw the ad, so listings that predate Jul 19, 2026 are excluded from time-on-market figures. Prices are asking prices as typed by the seller. Nothing here is an appraisal. Full methodology.