The left wing of my plane is significantly heavier than the right. I have looked at 2 manuals for 2 different planes but I have seen no mention of balancing the wing left/right. Is this an oversight in the manuals or does the balance really not matter? Seems to me the heavier wing would sink and have to be trimmed out.

Sometimes the instructions mention it...other times they don't. truth remains that the wing really ought to be balanced laterally.

Just try and inconspicuosly add some weight to the lighter wing (near the tip is best...less weight required).

This is something that you should check on all of your future models as well.

Have fun!

'Nite

Balance it on the plane not by itself. And add the weight as far out on the wingtip as possible. An easy way is to hang it from the propshaft and the tailwheel. Inverted for low wing or bipes and normall for a high wing. later daveo

Put the whole plane together before balancing it. If you have a glow engine the muffler is probably on the right, which will help even things out a bit. The muffler is near the centerline but quite heavy, so you might need less weight on the light wing.

I had a wing balance problem with my avistar afr that i built last year. Apparently the winter had miraclly made the right wing heavier than the left. I pondered for a moment. After my head began to ache thinking of a solution, one hit me. I drilled a bout a 1/4 inch hole in the plastic tip, shoved 2 rubber bands into it.( this forced a perfect balance.) Then, I cut a small piece of white trim covering from an old sheet and slapped that over the hole. Went flying 30 minutes later at my high school about 5 mins away and had 2 excellent flights before darkness fell. This worked well for me, maybe you should try it?

Lateral balance, although not as critical as fore and aft, is still necessary for good flight characteristics. If the plane is very much out of balance is will be apparent on the first flight. Balance your aircraft in both the fore and aft axis. The lateral balance is by far the easiest and takes the least amount of weight to correct. Be sure the wing is on as you correct the balance. Hobby shops usually have 6 oz. wieghts with sticky backs in 1/2 oz. segments. You can even clip the 1/2 oz. segments even smaller. Try it on the outside of the wing. When it is satisfactory you can put it under he covering. It will usually take a pretty large plane to require a complete 1/2 oz. On park flyers you can occasionally get by with a piece of tape.

SIMPLE QUESTION: Are you sure the wing is on the plane perfectly, same distance to each wing tip from the center line in the fuselage? I've had the wing on less than straight, or ended up slightly longer on one wide than the other from the center of a one-piece wing. A little too much length on one side has a tremendous weight when 20 inches away from the center line.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]
So much to check , and so little time between flights.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]