ORIGINAL: Servo481
I have the HK 50cc Spitfire with about 50 flights on it. I built it for the giant scale warbird races at rabit dry lake last year. I have a DA-60 in mine and it flies great. It was extremely tail heavy and the landing are too far back. I balanced mine at 30% (6 inches back from leading edge) and when trimmed takes very little down to fly level inverted. I angled the landing gear forward as much as possible (my axles are 4 inches behind the leading edge) still take offs and landings can be hard on propellers. I would like the wheel to be another inch forward but I can get then there. Dry weight of mine is 26 pounds and the only thing I added was wing reinforcing and nose weight.
Thanks Servo481 for the info, got any pictures of your plane? 26 lbs? That is discouraging. Not sure what your wing mods added in weight, but my wings are fine for the way I fly.
I fly off of pavement, but gradual throttle advancement and holding up elevator until I gain some speed is standard practice for me on takeoffs. I'm excited to find out if I can tame this beast on takeoff and landings though, looking forward to it!