Lyle,

You raise an extremely good point about the CG. While this is important for kits and ARFs, those pilots tend to be very aware of the importance of CG.

It is the PnP, BnF and RTF pilots that tend to trip over this issue. The model they purchased comes pre-balanced based on a specific battery, specific components and they have to be in the right spots.

Well the guy pulls out the 1300 mah pack and puts in a 3300 mah pack and proceeds to destroy the aircraft because it is so nose heavy or tail heavy he can't control it. Naturally the reaction is that his plane is a piece of crap and doesn't fly right, having no idea that he was the cause of the crash.

I have seen similar things happen when they pull out the light battery, that sits over the CG, and put in the heavy battery that doesn't really fit and throws off the CG. Or it loads the plane, making it so heavy that it flies like crap.

Balance and weight are not always obvious as issues to these PnP, BnF and RTF pilots.

Real good point!