I just put the finishing touches on my Tower Trainer ARF. Balancing on the C.G. was perfect, I didn't have to move a thing. However, when I tried to balance laterally I found that the plane is pretty significantly heavier on the right side. I'm pretty sure it's the muffler hanging out there that's causing this. My question is, how important is lateral balance? Can I just correct with trim and be ok? If it is important, how can I correct it? Thanks.

-Patrick

Depending on how far off it is, it may not track correctly through a loop, or dip the right wing when landing. I'd balance it out. This usually only takes a small amount of weight. I figure out how many BB's it takes, drill a small hole in the wing tip, lightly coat the BB's and insert them into the hole (leave out 2-3 to compensate for the epoxy), then patch the small hole. Double check the balance, and you're done.

Like balancing props, it probably is a good thing to balance the plane laterally, and as Ed said, and just as easy as balancing props, it's easy enough to do, and probably just as important, although for obviously different reasons.

Not much more need be said from Ed's post, just my offering of support.

DS.

Not being balanced laterally certainly won't make for a dangerous situation (Been flying since the 60's - Didn't start laterally balancing till the early 90's) but it does make for a better tracking plane, especially when doing aerobatics. So a good rule of thumb is to get in the habit of doing it. I don't do it to ALL of my planes, just the real aerobats.

Lateral balance is very important. If the wing isn't balanced, at slow speeds the heavy wing could suddenly drop andyou have stall! I use left over weights from tire balancing for cars. I found a garage that that puts the used ones in a coffee can and I can have them for free. I just cut the lead pieces off the metel bracket. I stick o a few pieces near the outside rib of the wind tip that needs weight with electrical tape and check the balance. When I have the correct weight, I slice the covering beside the rib and use RC56 canopy glue to glue the weights to the rib. Levae it overnight to dry and then put a patch over the opening. Canopy glue stays flexible and won't let go which is why its better than epoxy in this case. [8D]

I agree with Minnflyer, but I do lateral balance on all of my planes. I just do it as a matter of habit when I balance the plane. A good way to do it is get some good strong fishing line, tie it around the prop shaft of your motor and tie the other end around fuselage at the tail and leave yourself some slack so you can pick it up. Then lift the plane and see what happens. If a wing drops down then it is heavy on that wing and some weight needs to be added to the opposite wing. If you have already covered the plane then you will need to use the technique that Minnflyer lists in his [link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/article_display.cfm?article_id=84]"Balancing How-to"[/link]. If you haven't covered yet you can epoxy the weight directly to the frame. I prefer to completely assemble and balance my plane before I cover it. I think it's easier to add weight this way so you don't have to cut away covering to add weight. Of course I do a final balance check once the plane is covered.

Hope this helps

Ken

Thanks again guys. I think I'll go ahead and balance it just to reduce any complications in the air. I like the BB idea, I've got quite a few packs of them laying around. I just need to figure out what I can use to patch the white covering. Thanks

-Patrick

If you don't have white covering, use a decal.

You can use clear packing tape or just buya roll of white monocoat. I know you probably don't want to spend any more money right now but if you buy the roll it will come in ahandy down thee road anyway. You will need it if you need to make repais to the plane or other planes and you can use it to cover if build your next plane. [8D]

THIS is why I, even though a topic may not at the moment apply to something I'm doing, browse through all the beginner forum threads anyway.

What a neat and simple idea, Fastsky...you can bet I'll be visiting my tire shop today.

I do that too. Any time a tire shop balances a set of tires, they remove the old weights and throw them in a bucket to be recycled (Lead is unfriendly to the environment, so they don't want to trash them).

Just go to your local tire shop and ask them for a handfull or two. Pick up a cheap pot at the local Good Will Store (I use an old cookie sheet) and melt them down with a torch. Once they melt, you can remove the steel clip with a pair of pliers. You can even shape it a little as it cools.

They even have their weight molded right into them

Some of the weights are quite long so I just cut the pieces off on either side and don't worry about melting the clip off. To fine tune the weight, I start with large pieces and then I clip small pieces with a side cutter until I get what I need. [8D]