You can trust that Ken is NOT being, or at least not meaning to be, harsh here. Some of us, like myself, will occasionally tear into someone and Ken is the one that reels us back in. He is the calming voice of reason, along with MOST of the other moderators. This doesn't mean he doesn't have have opinions but he USUALLY holds them in check but occasionally a smidgen will sneak out. Perhaps that is what you caught this time. You should see what goes on in some of the other forums. This one is tame comparatively. It's practically guns & knives in others.

That explains it thanks
Electrolight

Kinda like a "Day Care attendant" for R/C addicts [sm=teeth_smile.gif][sm=tongue_smile.gif]

I have to stick up for Ken here a bit.

As I read the first post started all this discussion, I did not read into it anything harsh.

I read one thing that is common in any hobby. "You get out of it, what you put into it." While it is nearly impossible to produce a perfectly balanced/built aircraft. We as builders/assemblers should always strive to make our craft the best we can make them. If one of us settle for shoddy construction, we will - AT BEST - have a poorly flying bird. And we will be disappointed in how it performs. We go to the airfield and look at the beautiful birds and how well they fly, and we will only be disappointed in our bird flying poorly.

I read the intent, that if you're going to slap/slam a airplane together. 1.) You may be grounded for an unsafe bird. and 2.) If you do manage to get it in the air, you'll be unhappy with the flight.

"Good enough" can easily slip into "I don't give a darn. Slap it on there and fly." Guess what. If you want to do that with your bird, and you have your own private field from which to fly. Go ahead. But most of us share fields with other enthusiasts. And THEIR safety and well being and enjoyment of this wonderful hobby depend on OUR attention to detail. What may be good enough for you in your basement or shop, may not be good enough for others at the flying field.

Let me ask you this? How would you feel if you brought your 8 year old daughter to the field and she got hurt because somebody else's plane was unsafe, but flying anyway? You'd rip that guy a new one tute-sweet. And you'd be all over him (or her) for shoddy plane prep

("You" doesn't mean any specific person. It's a more general 'you'.)

Another point is that once you gain some experience you might actually KNOW what is close enough but as a beginner please stick with the directions as close as you can.

I guess I'll have to force my self to stick up for Ken here also (even though he is sending the 20+ mph winds my way ).

Taking your time and being careful and accurate in building or assembling a plane makes a world of difference in how it flies. I picked up a Sig King Kobra (for those who don't know what that is, go look it up on the Sig web site for a bit of education) last winter - I'm at least the third owner of this plane. Best I can tell it was built around 1980 or so, and the builder did a fantastic job. I don't know what engine it had on it when new, but I think the current engine is much heavier since it fell off my balance jig when I tried to balance it. I saw it fly this way last year and it looked like it tracked very well, so I took a chance on it at the auction and got a great deal. After I got the plane flying I realized how well it was originally built - it flies like its on rails. I've spent the summer working on getting the correct aerodynamic balance which is different from setting the CG that was described at the beginning of this thread, but it all started by getting the plane in the exact middle proper recommended CG range to start with. The balance I'm working on is to make the airplane competitive in NSRCA basic pattern next year as a back-up and practice plane. So to say a plane can't be perfectly balanced is really wrong - it can take a lot of hard work to get it properly balanced, and that balance depends on the type of flying you do. Luckily trainers are very forgiving and have a very tolerable CG range.

The original builder of my King Kobra did a great job building the plane - it's still flying as good as when it was new 25 years later. The balance issue showed that even a plane of this nature will fly way out of balance, but bringing the balance in made it fly like the designer intended. So it really pays to take your time work to make everything as perfect as possible. I've been getting lots of comments on how well my plane looks and tracks in the air, and I attribute 99% of that to the original builder of the plane.

For you noobs, just remember the higher the performance level of the plane, the more critical it will be to shoot for precision in the build and set-up. It will show very quickly on a high performance plane, take your time and if you are not sure on anything, ask - there a ton of information in this forum and other specialty forums.

Hogflyer

I'm the one that orginally said close enough...the question, and my answer was concerning setting a perfect CG...My answer had nothing to do with building or repairing an aircraft.
My answer had only to do with setting CG..No need to see a new guy cutting up a 1/4 oz stick on weight so that the airplane comes on dead ceter level per some laser level in his gargage..
So the way I read it hes already in the CG range he wants to know if he can get it perfect. of course he can.. but if you're in the CG range you're CLOSE ENOUGH..cause when you fill the tank you become nose heavy....etc etc.
If CG never changed then I'd go for perfect...You ever set CG where the aircraft was just slightly nose down on the CG machine? Well that was close enough wasn't it.

Jet mech must know me because he answered the best out of everyone and knows exactly what I meant.

Thank you Jetmech

Electrolight

Go back and read da rock's answers - he said it best.

Yes, if you're in the CG range, you're "Close enough" to fly the plane sucessfully.

But to find the "perfect" CG, you need to now go out and FLY IT.

How does it fly? Is it sluggish? Does it have a hard time slowing down? If it's an aerobatic plane, does it spin well, or does it sort of spiral down?

IF so, the CG is good (If it's in the range, it's good) but YOU might prefer it to be farther back.

But if you find the plane to fly eractically and overly sensitive to elevator and rudder input, you might want to move the CG forward a little.

You can even go OUTSIDE the range depending on your skill level and other factors.

Personally, I lift a plane up with my fingers at the recommended CG point and balance it so that it sits just slightly nose down. How much? I don't measure it, but only enough to see that it is definitely not tail-down. Then I fly it, and shift or add weight as needed, but I never check it again (Unless I make drastic changes like changing an engine, or adding a smoke system, etc.).

I don't check it because it was checked and flown. From now on, I will shift or add weight in small increments until the plane flies the way I want it to.

Once the plane flies the way I want it to, the CG is perfect - For ME... But YOU might like it to be somewhere else.

Thank you Minnflyer sounds good to me

Electrolight

PS: I guess I missed da rocks reply his was also good.