ORIGINAL: Lnewqban
ORIGINAL: buzzard bait
I will do maiden flights with the CG farther back than indicated on the plans if the formula tells me it's OK.
Yes, the designers and kits' manufacturers are conservative in order to compensate for any deviations and imprecision's introduced during construction.
If someone messes up the wing area, stab area, chord or tail arm they have really messed up the whole airplane.
Errors in alignment or incidence can have an effect on the maiden flight, but if they do, they won't be helped by having a conservative CG.