RE: Lightning CG
Are your guys using the new black hardened axles?
The original silver ones were a problem, but I've yet to break the new hardened ones & I fly off grass all the time. In fact, I just suffered a flame out at the worse time & my Lightning had a "high sink rate" from about 12 feet (I had to avoid a corn field). It hit right main first & literally blew out the frame slots of a Behotec C50 retract and bent the struts - but ironically the axles were still good.
I did have an issue with the original struts that have only one bolt & bushing in the slider. A bolt snapped on takeoff roll allowing the wheel to rotate causing a violent hook almost flipping the jet. The new stuts have 2 large brass bolts as sliders to prevent this problem and cut down on the toe in/out slop from wear like the original strut design.