Hello all! I've been posting on rcuniverse for almost a week now and I've gotten some great advise and good answers so I'm hoping my string of luck will continue!

I just took my Graupner Tipsy out for my maiden flight, and I think I might have a balance problem, however I'm not sure. I've been very careful to follow the instructions and I've made a few modifications that was recommended to me to correct the most common problems I found about the Tipsy. The mods were to add a couple rows of reinforced packing tape to the wing to strengthen it and to upgrade the motor from a Speed 280 to a Speed 280 Sport. According to the instructions, the CG is slightly forward of the middle of the wing, and as far as I can tell when I balance it on my fingers, that is exactly where it is. I had planned several flights today, each longer and more challenging then the last. For my first flight I got the plane up to about 25 feet and circled, then I cut power to glide back to Earth to check its balance and how well it glides. It flew well under power, but as soon as I cut the motor it nosed down about 15 degrees and full elevator up was barely able to pull it out before it hit the ground. It was a rough landing, but no real damage. Before I launched it again, I adjusted the trim to lift the nose, but when I cut power the second time I got the same result. Thankfully only very minor damage to the front of the nose.

The thing that bothers me is when it was under power, it flew well. I was surprised how strong the controls were and how little throw I needed to make the plane go. This leads me to my second theory as to what caused the dives, pilot error! When I got it up in the air, things started happening real fast! I didn't panic, but the plane drew an audience (unwanted for my first flight!!!) and I feel like my mind was racing.

All help is greatly appreciated!!!

Jay

It definetly sounds as if she was a bit nose heavy. It's normal for a plane to pitch forward a bit when you cut power but it shouldn't be dramatic or scary like you described. Mess around with the CG a bit, move what you can back in the plane, making small adjustments each flight until you find that sweet spot.

I'm not familiar with the Tipsy personally, but a trainer type plane should be more forgiving than that. IMHO a CG that is slightly aft is better than nose heavy. It will make landing and flare much more controllable. Keep in mind I really mean just "slightly" aft. A severely tail heavy plane can be just as scary as a nose heavy plane. Good luck and keep us posted if you get it solved.

"Let me see if I've got this straight: in order to be grounded, I've got to be crazy and I must be crazy to keep flying. But if I ask to be grounded, that means I'm not crazy any more and I have to keep flying."

Try move your CG forward about a quarter inch to begin with because youre definitely nose heavy. It will fly nice under power the way it is like you said BUT its the power thats keeping it nose straight. Its normal to nose down with no power because your CG is off because you no longer have that thrust to keep it up. Just move the CG a bit at a time and youll be OK.

Ok, thanks guys! I'm not going to be able to fly it today, working both jobs so I won't be home till after dark. I'll adjust the CG before I go to bed though and then hopefully I'll have time tomorrow to fly!

Thanks again for your help!

Jay