I have been told by some that lateral balance is crucial to a plane flying well, while others tell me it's not real critical. What do you guys think?


Thanks!

Depends on how picky you are and your level of flying. Also what you are flying. To me, balance is very critical. I go as far as to balance my spinners. Some people just don't care. We have some very serious modelers here and some who are in it purely to put a plane up and enjoy. Joe

I think it is important, especially to a less experienced flier. If you launch an airplane that is laterally unbalanced, it will want to roll in the direction of the heavy wing, which will require picking up that wing with aileron, and adding trim to hold it level. The heavy wing is now "working harder", flying at a larger angle of attack to maintain wings level. Depending on the amount of imbalance, the deflection could be significant. That can lead to premature stalling of the heavy wing, which according to Murhpy's Law will occur close to the ground as you are turning in the direction of that wing... [sm=crying.gif]

Seems better to get it balanced so you don't have to worry about one more "issue" when flying a new airplane

Cheers!

Jim

If you do 3D it is very important. You want it to stay level even when the wings are stalled. I always check it.

Pattern, precision flying.... Critical
3D, scale, sport - Very important if you want to hold stunts / lines and not have to reverse trims when inverted

Fun fly, trainers... not too critical, can be mixed out with trims, but still a hassle.


I always laterally balance all my planes, but that is me.
DP

Thanks everyone for all the imput! I've been flying my trainers for about a year. I am finishing my first low wing plane (tiger 60 ARF built as a taildragger) and a Big Stick 60 ARF.
I will make sure and do the lateral balance on all my planes.

Thanks Again for your help!

Kurt

One more vote for lateral balance. Any plane will fly better when the lateral balance is correct. It doesn't take a lot of effort and the rewards are well worth it. Simply put, it just makes sense.

Just do it....especially if you do anything more than fly around in circles.

Lateral balance takes like only 2 mins to sort out ... not asking for much is it? Unless you are one of those who are so particular about looks that you will embed the weight into the LE or something!