Neo gold

Jeez another problematic plane i purchased!...any help with this would be most helpful...many thanks.
Is my manual correct?...i remember CG's being switched with the 80" vers?..
My manual states limits of 95-105mm.........i balanced mine eventually @ 105mm, lead city @ the front end!...i even mounted the battery (5-cell) nmh at the top of the engine..forgot how much lead i stuck on the firewall...and it has a 'great planes' 2ounce spinner weight!!!!!!!....
My engine is the feather weight OS alpha 56 fsa...
Plane was balanced upside down / retracts down on the 'Great planes balancer'
I'm not going to fly this until its correct.
Thankyou!.

Experten109/40

My Feedback: (-1)

I'm certain that the retracts should be "up" when balancing. and LDM's advice of balancing the plane at 25% along the wing root
from the leading edge is a good starting point. never trust the manuals.

Joe Lott

Mine is balanced at 85mm from leading edge at the fuse. With my Great Planes C.G. Machine, that equates to 79mm from the leading edge where the balance arms contact the leading edge. The little plane flys nicely.

105mm from leading edge is INCORRECT! It is for the larger version of this model and will destroy your plane. Check out the following thread. http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_31..._1/key_/tm.htm

Several CMP .50 Zeros were lost because of this error, but many have flown successfully with the corrected C.G. I have over 40 flights on mine.

You will need lots of weight in that short nose. Start out with about a pound of lead and work from there! I heated the lead and poured it in a homemade mold in the shape I wanted. I added it forward of the engine on the engine mounts. I also mounted the receiver battery in the engine compartment for ballast.

Good luck.

Neo gold

Thanks guys!!..its always best to ask!...., it is a real nice scale plane...hmm, i may fit a bigger fsa engine, 72-81?..spend -spend!...instead of a small engine with loadsa weight..i'll fit a heavier lump.
Cheers for that...you saved my plane!!.

Warbird Nut

Mine is balanced at 92mm from the leading edge. I have an OS 61 FX for power, the battery is mounted on a bracket below the engine and required no additional weight to balance. The plane weighs 6 lb 14 oz dry and fly's great. A little overpowered with the 61, I fly at less than half throttle. Get a Zero spinner from World Models, 63mm is about right.

Warbird Nut

Here's my CMP Zero 50 size

ZERO-322

My Feedback: (2)

I ran a thunder tiger 46 with a 10x7 MAS prop total dry weight 7.25 Lbs balanced her at 85 mm and she flies really well , as long as you keep the speed up , stall speed on this thing isn't the greatest , I probably should have gone with the OS 61 as well , but het i still I guess LOL

Warbird Nut

Here's some pics.

Neo gold

Awesome planes guys!...before i re-balance mine i'll shoot some pics in here!..don't think i'll be flying this weekened!..Gales & rain forecast

flytaildragger

My Feedback: (8)

I own a CMP Zero and love it. LDM is right on the manuals, I had to add a lot of weight on the nose cause this airplane comes close to scale. Very short moment. I installed an Enya 120 with a hunk of lead mounted to the front of the front engine mount. The firewall is too far back to make a huge difference in the weight. You must add a lot for it to make up the difference in adding it to the front of the nose. Anyway I added my weight there and lined the lip of the cowl with shot and epoxy as necessary. Reinforce the cowl ring with larger plywood and larger glue area. It took a lot. My 71" Zero weighed in at 15 lbs. You do what you got to do to balance. This airplane in a tail heavy configuration will be a formula for tooth picks.

Experten109/40

My Feedback: (-1)

oops.. wrong thread lol.

Neo gold

Well i glassed 160g of weight inside the front edge of the cowl & dispensed with the three blade prop & tiny alloy spinner...
I balanced @ 90mm @ leading edge...now she will fly!!...oh & added a 2oz spinner weight behind the larger alloy spinner.
I'll not be flying this until the gales calm down....so tomorrow i'll take some pics & pop them in here.
Nearly ended up buying an engine the other day an fsa 72 or a heavily discounted Os fsa 81....but i'm not going down that road!.

heavy metal thunder

Zeros have a short nose and I've owned 3 over the years and test flown many for other people, they all required a lot of nose weight. The starting point at 25% of the cord at the wing root, is a good starting point, balance with the gear up. The only exception to excess lead was an old Jemco Zero I built from a kit about 30 years ago. I believe Jim Mister designed the plane and said to expect to add well over a pound of wight in the nose. I built up the tail surfaces and carved out as much balsa as I could, moved the servos to next to the fuel tank. Ended up putting only about 6 oz of lead in the nose. The plane came out 8 oz. under the recommended range. Light as it was the plane flew like a champ. I still have the plane but it needs recovering.

ZERO-322

My Feedback: (2)

recovering ? a zero is suppose to be beat up I bet she's gorgous ! post some pic of her if you can i'd love to see

Neo gold

I maidend the Zero today!,  it flies superbly!...just like a warbird should...long rolls & giant loops are accurate...
I gave it a longer roll-out & landing came in under a little power, sat on the mains & shaved off the excess speed, in came the elev & all was perfic!.
Love the plane!!...i was very anxious over flying this one & thanks to you guys i got my cg in the correct place..thankyou.