dmyers, Sorry to hear your maiden didn't go too well. I agree the cg as published is too far forward. I still haven't got it worked completely out yet. To get mine under control full up trim was required. I'm very glad I didn't use the specified control throws. Normally on first flights I set my controls to the maximum throws because you never know what you are going to run into. With a super nose heavy plane you might need a huge amount of up elevator. Notice the amount of up elevator and I'm not even flairing. I'm about to make a wheels landing. The black blob on the tail wheel strut is a two ounce hunk of lead. Also my nose is shorter than yours. I cut 2 1/4 inches out of the cowling to put it back in scale.
One thing I can warn you about is the power on stall. Simply flying level reducing power waiting for a power on stall was eye opening. It has a very fast left wing drop and is nose down in about three seconds. Recovery is quick and smooth but it sure is a heart stopper the first time she drops that wing. Make sure you have plenty of altitude before you try. Next time I get to fly I'll do the power on stalls with half and full flaps. Possibly the abrupt stall is related to the cg being too far aft.
Here is my second or third flight.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2E...sqWltiQSRaC3iw On my first landing I ended up on my back.