Plane Stability: weight in the front or back?
 

If a plane is a little bit tail heavy is it more stable or have I gotten that flipped around?

RE: Plane Stability: weight in the front or back?
 

I beleive you have gotten it flipped around. The more tail heavy it is the more unstable it becomes.

RE: Plane Stability: weight in the front or back?
 

yes that is right.
just move the flight battery forward. or just add an old door hinge to the nose.
thats what i did.

RE: Plane Stability: weight in the front or back?
 

A nose heavy plane can be a handful but "ususally" will fly another day
A tail heavy plane will quickly return to the land of its ancestors:D

RE: Plane Stability: weight in the front or back?
 

If the plane IS tail heavy just fly in reverse.

Problem solved.

RE: Plane Stability: weight in the front or back?
 

Instant canards!!!

RE: Plane Stability: weight in the front or back?
 

hardlanding7,

The way I remember is to think of a simple weathervane. If you move the pivot point to the front it will point into the wind easier. If you move the pivot point to the rear at some point it will be unstable and not point into the wind reliably. In an airplane the center of mass is the pivot point.

If you move the pivot point too far to the front. You won't be able to get the weathervane to do anything but point into the wind even with a servo controlled rudder on the back, hence poor manuverability.

Modern fighter jets are designed to be unstable to enhance manuverability. But they have to be flown by computers that can react faster than us meat machines.