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Thread: Variable CG?
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Old 11-20-2015, 08:54 AM
  #14  
otrcman
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Arroyo Grande, CA
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After a moment's reflection, I should add that you really don't need deployable canards. You can just leave the canards deployed all the time if they are free to pivot in the slipstream when you want to be stable and then locked up in a neutral position when you want to destabilize. Very simple and lightweight system compared to moving a weight.

By the way, I'm not suggesting canard surfaces that are controlled by pilot input. Just rigidly fixed surfaces. The canard surfaces aren't really for aircraft control, but to move the neutral point forward. When they are fixed, they destabilize the airplane. When allowed to trail in the slipstream, they have little or no effect on the airplane.

Dick

Last edited by otrcman; 11-20-2015 at 03:08 PM.