What I said was “Shimming the wing trailing edge and rigging the ailerons up have no significant effect on the tendency to climb under power.” Compared to the powerful effect of cg position, these other factors are relatively small.

You are correct in stating that reducing the wing’s incidence effects the relationship to the thrust line and it tilts it more upward, which is opposite to adding down thrust. Simply reducing the incidence won’t change the required down force on the tail. Reducing the angle between the wing and stabilizer will just require more elevator deflection to balance the aircraft at a given speed unless the cg is changed also. RhyanO’s problem is that he is running out of down trim, so shimming the wing T.E would give a little more down trim. While this may fix his problem, it isn’t the best fix, because it doesn’t address the basic problem, which is nose heaviness. If nothing is changed but wing incidence, the change in stability is nil.

Reflexing the ailerons has much the same effect as washout at the tips, with some additional quirks. You are on the right track when you refer to its effect on pitching moment. A cambered airfoil typically has a nose down pitching moment about the aerodynamic center (ac). Such an airfoil cannot be both balanced and stable since in order to be stable, the cg must be ahead of the ac, and in order to be balanced the ac must be ahead of the cg. By reflexing the trailing edge, the moment can be changed to a nose up pitching moment that can be balanced with the cg ahead of the ac. This gives a section that can be both stable and balanced (making a flying wing possible).

By reflexing the trailing edge of the ailerons, You reduce the overall nose down pitching moment of the wing and if nothing else is changed, static pitch stability is increased. The effect is basically the same as moving the cg forward a little. At the same time since you have in effect added washout at the tips, the stall is moved inboard also.

I mentioned quirks. Like with washout, the lift distribution has been shifted inboard. This adds drag at any given lift condition. Since most models are grossly overpowered, the additional drag won’t likely be noticed, but it’s there. Cambered and reflexed airfoils both usually exhibit some change in moment with angle of attack, especially at high angles. This change in moment changes the static longitudinal stability a bit. The problem is that with the reflex being accomplished by rigging up the aileron, this factor is unpredictable. For a particular problem, it may work or not.

If the problem involves both too little stability and tip stalling, reflexing the ailerons may be “killing two birds with one stone.” Otherwise, simply moving the cg will accomplish the desired result without the increased drag.

I’m not sure what you mean by relexed airfoils being less “speed sensitive”. The moment is greater for a cambered airfoil than a reflexed, and a symmetrical one. But once a tail has been attached, the stability (and resulting sensitivity to speed) can be identical. It all depends on the cg location chosen.

I have no doubt that you have had good results with these adjustments. It’s just that there may be easier and more effective ways to accomplish the same thing.