I'm back at my workshop after a long summer away and want to finish up this "ARF" so I can fly it while the weather's still nice. The problem in short is the balance is WAY OFF. I was finding I'd have to add significant amounts of lead to the nose to get it balance at the recommended CG. This CG might be a bit conservative as DaRock points out, but that's the way I like things for a first flight anyway.

So...

I've decided I'm going to have to move some things around. This included replacing the push-rods and guides with lighter (old-fashion) dowels -- as I had done on my 40-size Kyosho. This will also completely eliminate the problem of sticking that wasn't solved just by crossing the rods. Each of the wire_guide combos were about 22g and I think I should be able to fashion replacements at about 13g each.

Next, I carefully removed the ply servo try, cut off the forward section (with the round holes) and will remount this in the forward half of the wing saddle area, that is, AHEAD of the CG. I'm also moving the battery switch forward a couple inches and will build a battery compartment forward of the firewall.

And even with all this re-building, I'm still going to need some weight epoxied onto the forward sides of the engine compartment. Honestly, I'm a little surprised that the model is so far out-of-balance in it's "stock" configuration. Granted I've converted it to a taildragger but that doesn't begin to explain why so much weight is needed. It's almost like the model is really designed for the weight of a much larger engine (at least a 91FS).

If it wasn't for the fact that my 40-sized Calmato is such a beautiful flyer -- particularly on extremely low-speed passes -- I might be a bit more frustrated with the work I'm having to do on this "ARF."