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What else do you use for balancing your gliders?


Yoyo

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Once you've found lead shot or whatever, what do people use to set/find the CG.

I've been setting up an M60 lately and it's a pain to balance. With it balanced on two pencil points at the desired CG it seems to stay put briefly but once it moves either way it rapidly falls off. I can't get it to actually balance anywhere for long.

Is it worth making one of those hanging 'Vanessa' rigs for it?

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Multiplex balance machine.

Try balancing the m60 upside down.

Following Tom's advice, I went for the multiplex device and am more than happy with it. Discovered my typhoon was out by 2 mm so well worth the outlay. Mike

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Being out by 2mm is only important if you want the the plane to fly like other people who have a CG at that point. On a plank the CG is fairly limited in range but a plane like the Typhoon will have a wide range of CG with varying handling over that range. As has been pointed out elsewhere the CG machines are great for setting up for a maiden and then when the planes is tuned to YOUR preference you can note the CG so you can return to it after repairs or change of battery size or whatever.

Being 2mm out should be determined by dive test, inverted flight and general 'feel'.

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Once you've found lead shot or whatever

Look at Scuba Diving shops for lead shot, or Diving suppliers on ebay, they use it for weightbelts these days

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Being out by 2mm is only important if you want the the plane to fly like other people who have a CG at that point. On a plank the CG is fairly limited in range but a plane like the Typhoon will have a wide range of CG with varying handling over that range. As has been pointed out elsewhere the CG machines are great for setting up for a maiden and then when the planes is tuned to YOUR preference you can note the CG so you can return to it after repairs or change of battery size or whatever.

Being 2mm out should be determined by dive test, inverted flight and general 'feel'.

I'm still in the learning process of what feels correct ; bearing this in mind, I felt that precisely setting the CoG to one recomended by a variety of far more experienced pilots would be the best starting point. I thought I had set it to 97 mm using the finger tip approach only to discover I was 2mm out ; I hence find the CoG tool very useful at this point on my learning curve. Maybe one day I'll simply be able to glance at a glider and tell whether it's correct balanced for me but not now that's for sure ... :)

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I agree with Tom, the Multiplex balancer is worth the money (not a lot) that you pay for it. I have taken to using 5g wheel balance weights both for adjusting the CG at the slope, and for measuring how much noseweight is needed in the workshop. To see how, have a look at the 'Building a Schwing' thread on this Forum.

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Mike is rather modest about his flying skills which are way better than he makes out!

The typhoon isn't a model that indicates CG changed, around a certain point, that well. You could argue that it doesn't need to be changed if it doesn't make a noticable difference, but that is another debate. Maybe the tail is a bit oversized on them.

the balance machine is super useful. I would not be without it.

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That's very kind of you, Tom. Still at the first rung in comparison with the vast majority of you !

It does make a massive difference when you are all so helpful too, especially considering some of my numpty questions in the past year or so.

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A good way to balance foamies is to simple stick a notice board pin directly into the bottom of the model at the point you wish to balance at.

Then balance it with the head of the pin on your finger, using a single pin in the fus allows for a lateral balance as well.

As to listening to others CG positions - consider them as a start - but do not be scared to change them significantly to suit your requirements.

I liked my Typhoon and found it a very well mannered fast aerobatic machine that was happy to also relatively happy in very very light lift. Others have talked about it not liking this type of flying - others only fly big clean coastal sites, if i were flying at BD, personally I would choose a much more conservative cg position and gain the sweeter handling.

Too many seem to thing that having it up the ar.. end is preferable, I just think it can be exciting but often is just a little rough.

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The Multiplex balancer looks good for the money but I wanted something quickly a while back to balance my big YAK so I built one using materials I had lying around. I needed to avoid pointy balance points 'cos of dinting the wing surface and possibility of the plane sliding off with unfortunate consequences likely, so this was my solution.

IMG_1091.jpg

IMG_1092.jpg

IMG_1094.jpg

Used it subsequently for glider balancing.

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A good way to balance foamies is to simple stick a notice board pin directly into the bottom of the model at the point you wish to balance at.

Then balance it with the head of the pin on your finger, using a single pin in the fus allows for a lateral balance as well.

As to listening to others CG positions - consider them as a start - but do not be scared to change them significantly to suit your requirements.

I liked my Typhoon and found it a very well mannered fast aerobatic machine that was happy to also relatively happy in very very light lift. Others have talked about it not liking this type of flying - others only fly big clean coastal sites, if i were flying at BD, personally I would choose a much more conservative cg position and gain the sweeter handling.

Too many seem to thing that having it up the ar.. end is preferable, I just think it can be exciting but often is just a little rough.

Too many seem to think having it the ar...end is preferable.i just think it can be exciting but it is just a little rough....Does liz know you talk like that Micheal :D ?
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