What method do you guys prefer for checking the CG on your birds? I'm been doing it by hand ever since I got into this hobby, but I've come to the conclusion that there is probably +/- 1/4" to 1/2" margin of error in each direction. I've seen ads for special devices that you can buy and I've also heard that many people make their own with dowel rods and pencil erasers.

Give me some tips on the best ways to measure CG, and maybe some links to the devices you guys use. Thanks a bunch.

-coo

have one balancer that I made with plywood,two wood dowels and two pencil erasers,If the plane is heavy the erasers will ding the covering on open bays,the other is by great planes which has worked well on most 12 # or smaller planes. on larger planes I'll build a balancer or use my fingers. To me the marked c/g is a starting point only,I'll fly the plane and trim to my style of flying,thing to remember is changing c/g, the other trims are affected.

I use the Great Planes balancer which works well for plane weighing up to about 12/13 lbs. Remeber to balance low wing planes INVERTED and high wing plane UPRIGHT.

I use my fingers. That gets me in the ball park, which is all you really need. Once the plane has flown, I will move the battery forward or back as needed, or as a last resort, add weight to the nose or tail until it flies the way I want it to. I don't care WHERE the balance point is if it flies right. Once it has been flown, I never check it, I just shift weight as needed.

To give you an idea of what I'm talking about, someone in my club wanted his Goldberg Cub to fly like mine. So we checked the balance and balanced his the same. His was flying like it was nose heavy even though both planes balanced the same. We shifted the CG forward about 3/8" and it flew "just like mine".