MLC,

Thanks for posting. We definitely care.

Here are my thoughts........

Your hinge selection is fine. Tail-wheel change, very little difference in weight. Servo and hardware placement sounds fine. Weight added in glassing the wing should result in a neutral affect on the CG, for the most part.

Adding the cowl will help out significantly. Not that the cowl is that heavy, but it is glass with thick paint. Also, a tru-turn stlye spinner, or equivalent, will help out too (slightly heavier at the farthest point out on the fuse).

Sounds like your motor install is perfect.

My final thoughts......I would recommend completing the model 100% with the cowl installed and re-checking the CG. The CG provided in the manual is conservative and you will find it to be a slightly nose heavy position. I expect you will be removing all the added weight, and relocating your battery just behind the firewall either on top of the fuel tank compartment. As I do not know you personally, I am not attuned to your style of flying. If you are precision flying, I expect these comments to suit your needs fine. If you are more of a 3D flyer, I expect you will be moving your battery pack back further to under the canopy compartment area.

I do not recommend this to anyone flying this plane for the first time, nor do I recommend a drastic change, but we have a local 3D type flyer, flying this plane with a CG of more than 8" back. I have personally flown the plane, and yes, you can feel that it is tail-heavy. However, I can say with confidence, the plane flew very well considering this location. Even landings were not an issue.......very slight down elevator input.

I hope you find this information useful. There is a lot of personal preference that goes into setting up any airplane. Please report back to me your findings. Also, please don't hesitate to contact me with any additional comments or questions.

Sincerely,

Ultra-RC
Brian Hughes

609-714-0040
[email protected]