I must add this though, I've checked the balance of my friends avistar and it seemed right in the middle of the range, well, one day while flying it, one of the main gear legs fell off while flying it, I landed it and had him snap it back in the slot. A few flights later the nose wheel fell off while in flight, I managed to land it and condenmed the plane till he fixed it, so losing the main gear on one side and wheel didn't make it uncontrolable, nor did losing the nose wheel. So the CG is very forgiving for a seasoned pilot, but for a beginner, it can wreak havok on your day. I suggest balancing it in the mid range of the instructions and make sure everything is solid before takeoff. I feel stupid for not checking his landing gear, but it happened not once, but twice in one day. My bad his gain for having me there to take over the stickas and bring it home.