LuftwaffeOberst

[sm=lol.gif] I just re-balanced my Hanger 9 PTS Mustang ARF and I have it balanced right on the money, 4 1/2" from inner leading edge.

When I went to balance side to side, to see what side of the wing was heavy, I noticed that the left side needed weight. To my suprise, I didn't have any Self Stick Lead Weights around... so I used a old Drill Bit, making sure it was straight and on my balance point right on the wing tip. I used CA Glue and pushed it flush to the curvature of the wing tip, and cut a small yellow piece of Utra, and placed it over the end of the drill bit to somewhat hide everything.

Now the balance is perfect, Nose to tail, wing tip to wing tip. It's funny, in my directions, it didn't mention that the "Side to Side" Balance was critical. Hmm, talk about major wing dippage at near or about stall speed. [X(]

What kind of crazy weights have you all used when, when you ran out of lead weights... and you didn't want to wait another week to get lead weights?


Come on guys, be truthful. [sm=lol.gif]




Luftwaffe Oberst
Radio Aero Modelers Club
AMA # 856404
Pulaski, NY

bruce88123

I got to the field the other day to maiden a new Extra 300 and remembered I hadn't balanced it yet. Dummy.[:@] Found it to be quite tail heavy and no way to fly it that way. I dug around for a while and finally another guy showed up. He had one strip of sticky weights.Not nearly enough. More scrounging. I was going to fly w/o the cowling which made it easier. Finally flew it with a strip of lead, an 8 inch file and a 1 inch socket secured to the firewall. Made one succesful flight and parked it. The arrangement was precarious enough that I didn't want to push the issue. Made a trip to the LHS in the morning and fixed it right.
Oh what we'll do to get a flight in.

LuftwaffeOberst

[sm=lol.gif] LOL ! That was great!


Luftwaffe Oberst
Radio Aero Modelers Club
AMA # 856404
Pulaski, NY

bigedmustafa

My Feedback: (2)

I often tape pennies and nickels onto my foamies to balance them. Just my two cents!

LANNYBOB

fishing weights, old flight pack batteries and small water balloons.

Insanemoondoggie

I got a roll of quaters in the nose of my LT-40

Jim_Purcha

My Feedback: (8)

Couldn't get a Hobbico Superstar Ep to balance properly at the Wham electric fun fly. "Tex" taped a spark plug to it.

Jim

DavidAgar

My Feedback: (108)

The old standby is the Cox 049 glow plug wrenches. I have been known to fly with 2 or 3 of them in the fuel tank compartment. On one occassion real desperation set in and I ended up using pea gravel from the road. Covered it all with foam and away we went. Nice the about pea gravel is it will go into all the small places that weights won't. Good Luck, Dave

Mr67Stang

Flew an old Goldberg Extream Edge 540 Profile for a buddy that had been repair at least half a dozen times. He told me to take it out and crash it. So I did not worry about ballance and flew it... Wow I tell you what (Larry the Cable Guy voice). You want a wild ride? Fly an Edge 540 profile extreamly tail heavy. This plane could not hold a level attitude. I flew at about 35 degrees pitch when flying level altitude. So I managed to land it and my buddy pulls out a zip tie an 1.2V NiCad from a glow ignighter. We secured it to the nose making the plane look very silly but more flyable. It was still tail heavy but that just made it a good challenge... never did crash it.

Deadeye

Set up a Flightstar trainer once, real tail heavy. Used a bolt, and a .308 bullet around the fuel tank.

i live for 3D

on all my planes i have always used nickels.....seems to be the cheapest for the weight.

Pacific Planes

Great post. What crap we add to our planes. I used two quarters on a foamy and a 8 pack of AA batteries on a Yak. Only thing I could find at the field.

carrellh

I've seen an 8 inch crescent wrench zip tied to the engine mount of a large plane.

LuftwaffeOberst

LOL! If I ever crash my PTS Mustang... I'll say " Hmmm... that's where my Drill Bit went!" I kind of can't wait to see my friends faces... they might think I'm crazy. [sm=lol.gif] Hey, what people can't see in the plane... won't hurt them. I'd hate to have a mid-air collision, and have a bunch of coins raining on top of me. I guess " Pennies from Heaven" isn't just a dish anymore. lol

Besides, if you can hide your weights... the better right?


Finally I started a good thread!


Luftwaffe Oberst
Radio Aero Modelers Club
AMA # 856404
Pulaski, NY

shd3920

I have an old spice container filled with white rice in the nose of my LT-40. Fit perfectly underneath the tank floor with enough room still for the battery pack.

I have pennies glued to the nose of my Gentle Lady glider. Even though I have a 400 electric motor added for power it somehow still ended up tail-heavy about 5-cents worth.

LuftwaffeOberst

Yes... I would be a little worried about that .303 going off in a crash. [X(] Talking about crashing with a bang![sm=lol.gif]


Luftwaffe Oberst
Radio Aero Modelers Club
AMA # 856404
Pulaski, NY

VFR_RC

I have a hardware store in the tank compartment of my eagle 2. 3 (large) bolts, 2 (large) allen wrenches, a couple of lug nuts and that's it! If mine crashes it'll be hard to explain where all the hardware came from. Kinda like a doctor trying to explain the needle nose pliers inside a patient after an x-ray

chevy43

I have a box of car wheel balance weights that work pretty well.

flyinrog

My Feedback: (1)

I get fishing sinkers and hammer them to about the size of a quarter and glue them to the floor under the tank once I have figured out the right amount of weight...Rog
of course I balance them at home not at the field...

Trollmaster

I know a guy who uses rocks and zip ties at the field. You have to bee here to understand.

rlipsett

have you ever tried a battery clamp