ORIGINAL: brett65
I am supposed to check the CG with an empty tank of fuel right? The instructions on my Sky Raider mach 1 say 3.15 inches back from the leading edgeof the wing, which looks to be about 1/4 of an inch in front of the main spar. That is assuming i'm right about where the main spar is. Thanks again!
You don't have to guess or assume.
Get a ruler and measure. Then slap a strip of masking tape where the 3.15" would be right in the middle of the tape. Put a strip on each wing where you figure to hold with your "balancing fingers".
See the funny blue color on the wing in the picture. It's a strip of tape used to make balancing that Corsair a doable proposition. Trying to hold up, balance, and measure all at the same time is a waste of time if you want to be halfway accurate. I wanted the balance of that Corsair to be at 5.25". I put the tape so 5.25 would be right in the centerline of that strip. My fingers could easily tell where they were front-and-back on that tape. Yeah, I balanced the airplane upside down. And with an empty tank. It flies like gangbusters. Fast, slow, and once I adjusted the elevator throw to match the CG, with excellent pitch control and accuracy. Excellent airplane.