Yellow P-38 CG?
09-08-2019, 12:37 PM
#2
I’ve been flying mine with it balanced on the front wing spar. The factory CG ahead of the wing spar is not good.
There is a fair bit of CG shift when the gear retracts so with the plane empty and the gear up the tail should be level.
In this configuration if the plane ran out of gas it will fly neutral, never tail heavy. As the gear is deployed the plane will be slightly nose heavy and any extra fuel will add to that.
I suspended the plane from the wing spar by steel wire and watched the CG shift as the gear retracted. I forget how many ounces at the elevator it took to level the tail again but it was significant.
In flight the P-38 flies like a big trainer and will take off and land at surprisingly slower speeds.
Have fun!
There is a fair bit of CG shift when the gear retracts so with the plane empty and the gear up the tail should be level.
In this configuration if the plane ran out of gas it will fly neutral, never tail heavy. As the gear is deployed the plane will be slightly nose heavy and any extra fuel will add to that.
I suspended the plane from the wing spar by steel wire and watched the CG shift as the gear retracted. I forget how many ounces at the elevator it took to level the tail again but it was significant.
In flight the P-38 flies like a big trainer and will take off and land at surprisingly slower speeds.
Have fun!
