Ive been flying my ARF LT-40 for 2 months now, I have a LT-40 kit that I built but its very tail heavy.
To have it perfectly balanced I have to add 1 pound of lead to the very front under the tank. Both of the planes have the same exact radio setup and O.S. 46LA's. The kit plane struggles with the 46 engine and the ARF plane flys fantastic. Why did my ARF balance out perfectly after complete assembly but the kit plane was so tail heavy ?
does anyone have an idea on how to fix this?

Thanks, Chris

Chris,
The ARF manufacturers (trainers in general) are pretty good at keeping things light in the tail so that a beginner does not have to work to hard at balancing. They use techniques like lightening holes in the tail surfaces or square stick construction. Not knowing the construction of the LT-40 I would'nt know what went wrong. However, here are a couple of things you might try. Is the battery under the tank? If not that can add a couple of ounces to the nose. You could also move your servos as far forward as possible. One of those heavy prop hubs are real good at helping a plane balance. A more extreme fix might be to cut some lightening holes in the stab, fin, rudder, elevator and even the fues. sides at the tail. Be careful as to much wood removal can weaken things. Hope some of these things help.
Tom

Thanks,
the battery and the servos are as far foward as they can be, I was thinking more on the lines of maybe a bigger engine rather than more weight the landing gear cant handle much more. The plane balanced out with weight in the front is over 2 pounds heavier than the ARF. I have a Tower .75 is that to big?

Chris

Chris,
After looking up your planes on the web it says that either version is about 6 pounds. Your LT-40 kit is about 8 pounds? I was thinking of something in the .60 range. I think a .75 might be a bit to much but you can also throttle back. A heavier engine though will allow you to remove some excess lead.
Good Luck!
Tom

Hey Chris, you are the only other person that I have found, besides me that thinks that this plane is tail heavy. After I built mine, I too had the hardest time balancing it out. I finally put a Super Tigre 45 on it as well as the battery pack under the fuel tank. This engine was exactly what I needed without adding any lead weight to the nose. As for power I asked a police officer who was watching use his radar gun on it. With a little help from a light breeze he clocked it at 75 MPH. I know that has very little to do with CG, but I like telling people that a trainer can fly that fast. Good luck with the plane.

Brett