Help! Add weight or make it longer to get the right CG

[ark]

My latest build seems a little tail heavy and so to make the CG be in the right place on the wing I will either need to add weight to the nose or make the nose even longer so the battery is further forward. Does anyone have any advice on which would be better? Thanks!

 

[GliderFlyer]

A lighter plane does fly better, so lengthening the nose if you can would be the best option.

 

[Merv]

I always make the nose longer.
Slide the power pod and battery forward and do a trial balance. When you know how much to add, make a cut around the fuse and add in the extra foam board and glue everything back together.

 

[AIRFORGE]

My latest build seems a little tail heavy and so to make the CG be in the right place on the wing I will either need to add weight to the nose or make the nose even longer so the battery is further forward. Does anyone have any advice on which would be better? Thanks!

What plane is it?
Before adding weight, can you do anything to make the tail lighter?
Can you move the wing back?

 

[ark]

What plane is it?
Before adding weight, can you do anything to make the tail lighter?
Can you move the wing back?

It's a simple stick pusher with FPV. There's not much to remove from the tail since the elevator servo is in the wing already. I can move the wing further back on the next one, but not this one since it's already glued, I was trying to keep the tail to wing distance the same as the Hangar Simple Stick it's based on. This one uses fiberglass tent poles, the next one will use some 5mm carbon fiber rods that are on (slow) order so that should be a lot lighter.

 

[AIRFORGE]

View attachment 191668

It's a simple stick pusher with FPV. There's not much to remove from the tail since the elevator servo is in the wing already. I can move the wing further back on the next one, but not this one since it's already glued, I was trying to keep the tail to wing distance the same as the Hangar Simple Stick it's based on. This one uses fiberglass tent poles, the next one will use some 5mm carbon fiber rods that are on (slow) order so that should be a lot lighter.

Nice design, man!
Based on what I know now, I agree that extending the nose may be the best option, and adding weight to the nose is another option. I think simply adding weight would at least get you in the air for a "proof of concept" flight.
Again, nice design. Keep us posted, I'd like to see how it flies!

 

[PsyBorg]

Try peeling the paper off the tail. nearly 50% of foamboards weigh is in the paper. You can always be lighter in the tail then reseal the foam with minwax, white wood glue or paint.

 

[ark]

I finished the plane and wrote it up here.