fltengc5

I just built the Tiger 60 ARF, this is my third airplane and I am new to this hobby. I installed a magnum xl80rfs 4 stroke up front. This is my problem. The airplane is a trycycle gear, and when I put on the ground, it falls back onto the tail. I followed the cg instructions in the manual and initially when I picked up the plane with my finger tips, it would tilt back on the tail. So I moved the battery in front of the fuel tank and have added 6 oz of weight to the front of the battery compartment, and I also installed a metal spinner for additional weight. The airplane now will sit on the gear and not fall on the tail, and when I lift it from the proper cg area according to the manual it will balance then slightly tilt towards the motor. Does this sound correct? Is it normal to have to add this much weight? Any advice would be great.... thanks

ballgunner

My Feedback: (1)

This is not the first post I have seen concerning the Tiger 60 and its CG problems. You seem to have taken the right approach to balancing although it seems a shame to have to add 6 oz. of weight considering the size and weight of the engine you have. If the model balances slightly nose down when held at the CG point indicated on the plans or instruction booklet it should be OK. Check with some of the other pilots at your field for an up close and personal opinion.

southern_touch99

Carefull adding that spinner weight to the front of a fourstroke. If its a regular spinner then its probobly ok but too much weight will harm the bearings on the motor (wont effect you in the short run). 6oz. is a LOT of weight to be adding to a trainer plane I.M.O. If you feel really comfy with the building process you could always find a way to move the wings farther back and it would eliminate the weight (its a shame to have to do this on an arf).

daveopam

My Feedback: (9)

Balance it upside down on a CG stand and don't worry about what it does when sitting still.
My Tiger 2 .40size also falls on it's tail. But, as soon as I add fuel it sits on all three. After a flight when low
on fuel it falls on it's tail when I kill the engine. I can't explain why it does this. The main gear is behind the CG.
On the .40 size there are blind nuts in the tail for a Kleet tail wheel. Screw a nylon bolt in there to protect the
Ultracoat and if your flying on a rough surface, taxi out with full up elevator. later daveo

Goliath

beto9

My Feedback: (1)

Old and common problem in the Tigers.
I built a 60 from a kit and a Tiger 2 ARF. Both tend to drop the tail.
When the tank is full they will sit OK but if the runway is bouncy it may add a few years to your life.
Weights and heavy spinner is what I did to adjunst the CG, not the tail dropping.
Also, I added a littler tail skid made of wire to the tail (I have both trycicle gear) to avoid scrapping the covering.
You can also bend the main gears a little backwards, to avoid that bouncy attittude. Not too much or you will be adding weight to the tail.
But they fly great, don't they?
Albert

southern_touch99

Its pretty obvious that this airplane is begging to be made into a tail dragger anyway. Either shift the gear forward or make your own gear and slap a tail wheel on that sucker. IMO tail draggers are A LOT less hassel to deal with anyway. Every nose wheel airplane I have ever owned was converted to a tail dragger and by doing this I have taken away stress and added years to my life. Tail draggers look better anyways. You hear everyone talking about they are harder to take off blah blah blah. I have flown everything from gliders to F3A's to IMAC and warbirds (now with warbirds they are a bit harder if your not careful) and have NEVER had a problem with an airplane being a tail dragger.

bdtsr

My Feedback: (5)

Well I was following up on the Tiger 60 threads and figured I'd ad my.02 cents. Forget the trike setup and the cg location. These planes are very tolerant of cg location. Mine is balanced 1" past the rear recommended point. No problems at all. It flies VERY nice. It is also powered by a ST .90. My other one will also be a taildragger and have a Magnum .91 4c in it.

horace315

My Feedback: (15)

the arf's are a bit tale heavy,i built mine from a kit and it was still a little tale heavy,first i had a os61 in it then changed it to an asp 91.i know sucky engine but it has plenty of power and so far after i added two head shims have had no over heating problems,actually i tightned the carb and everything else down good and havent had any air leaks,ohh well back to the tiger 60,i added triangle stock to each side of the vert stab and replaced the wing holdowns with nilon bolts and added hard wood blocks then threadded them for the hold downs.i also lowered the front wheel about 1/4 inch so when it sits it is kinda low in the front.the balence acording to tower is diferent for arf's than it is for the kits dont know why,they say balence 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 back from leading.with the asp i didnt have to add any weight the balence is on the 3 1/2 mark.i moved the battery and tx back some havent flown it that way yet but it did move the cg a little more back about 3 3/4 now.it flew pretty good where i had it but want to see if it gets any better,i have pics of it if anyone is intrested email me and i will send some.

ben beyer

My Feedback: (23)

Put a Magnum 120 up front. It'll fly better and solve some of the weight problems.

bdtsr

My Feedback: (5)

You don't need the weight of a 120 up front. If you MUST be at the cg, use a .91 4 cycle and put the battery at the front of the tank area and this will put it on the spot. My servos are in the tail and with a 90 2 cycle (ST) it balances 1" BEHIND the rearward cg point. It flies very well and does not fly tail heavy. This plane is one of those that is like a tolerant dog around it's owner's children. You can pretty much do what ever you want and it will keep on flying well.

rcflyertwo

My Feedback: (3)

[8D]I fly this plane almost daily and its a great gentle forgiving plane to fly, Mine is done as a taildragger and it ground handles great! A guy in my club built it and it has a os91 four stroke, he had nose weight in it that I took out and it doesn't fly any differently with the wieght removed. It does real nice slow flat turns, the fans love it Butch in Niagara Falls