Hey Chris, you are the only other person that I have found, besides me that thinks that this plane is tail heavy. After I built mine, I too had the hardest time balancing it out. I finally put a Super Tigre 45 on it as well as the battery pack under the fuel tank. This engine was exactly what I needed without adding any lead weight to the nose. As for power I asked a police officer who was watching use his radar gun on it. With a little help from a light breeze he clocked it at 75 MPH. I know that has very little to do with CG, but I like telling people that a trainer can fly that fast. Good luck with the plane.

Brett