There is nothing sacred about a CG location. And it's not as critical that we get it EXACTLY perfect, as it is to just do it.

You really need to check it before your maiden. You really need to get the CG near the suggested location. THAT's important. But near is good. Exactly on the spot is not needed at all.

And you need to have your elevator throw near the recommended. THAT's also important. But exactly on the measurement? Nope.

I'm about to maiden a new Corsair. I did the math to see what range I had for the maiden's CG range. (Actually, I had www.geistware.com do the math. I just did a couple minutes worth of work with a yardstick.) The wing on the sucker has a MAC just over 11". The CG range is an inch. I knew if I got the CG within that inch, the model would respond decently on the maiden if the throws were close. And it'd be safe if the CG was close. But, the airplane is a taildragger with a history of being easy to trip up. So I wanted to be sure the CG wasn't toward the front of where it could be. So for this time, I was slightly more interested in a relatively accurate CG location. I did want the CG to be in the back half of that 1" range.

It'll fly safely and the response to the stick will be safe too. Because the CG is near where the mfg suggested, and the throws are as suggested. But after the maiden, it's whatever the airplane tells me where the throws and CG goes.