I'd like to get an idea of where most of you guys have your 300's balanced. I'm setting mine up at 5". From what I've read this is a good 3D starting point.

Also, is it common to hear continuous noise from my 5945s in the ailerons? They seem to be working pretty hard at centerpoint to hold up the weight of those ailerons. Thanks!!!

those extras are needin to be balanced at 2.5 to 3 inches behing edges are 5 inches

You're absolutely right!
Once I read your post, I looked over my manual again and notcied it says 2.5-3" at the wingtips. I'm balanced at 5" along the fuselage.

Has anyone got some numbers for balance point along the chord at the fuselage rather than at the wingtips (2.5-3") since the leading eedge is not square???

I may have to do some shifting of the batteries as it just balances at 5" with the DA50. Any suggestions???

i saw a pik one time where some one draped a line across the fuse with the hatch off 3 inches back from both wingtips to get the right spot at the fuse taped the line on both wing tips and marked the fuse

It seems to me it would be easier to balance it at the wing tips than to sit down at the computer and ask how to do it a different way. But that's just me.

If you MUST balance it at the root, do this. Take the wings off the plane, and put them together on the wing tube without the fuse in the middle. Lay the assembly on a flat surface.

Mark each wing tip 2 3/4" back from the LE and pull a string from mark to mark, and draw a line where the string is. You can balance the plane anywhere along that line.

TF

Maybe my question was not clear. I am trying to figure out exactly where the 2.5-3" at the wingtip is? I was assuming it was at the ends of each wing and now after reading Tom's reply I think the answer was struck upon. Looking at the manual once again I see no holes for the wing tube, etc. Just didn't notice that at 11pm last night. Anyway thanks for the answers guys.

It's not that I'm trying to re-invent the wheel or anything, I am using a GP balancer and wasn't sure if the 3" was at the root or not. I see now that it is not. Just don't want to take a first flight with my CG 2" too far back (disasterous)!!!

koo no probs man

i'm new to gassers and 3 1\8 is my cg flys great 3d too.

In the 35% Giles manual, Tom has shown a way to balance a plane that is just too simple. I wish I had thought of it.

Just place a piece of 1 or 1-1/2' pipe under the fuselage and line it up with the wings, then find where the plane will balance on the pipe. It's just waaay too easy to do. Needless to say, a long piece of pipe would likely be the easiest way to line up with the wing, but it be a short one just as well.

Thanks - that's another great idea. It just seems that depending on where I project my lines from the tips the balance shifts very slightly. Not a cause of concern, it's probably human error. I'm just being picky. I'll try the pipe and see if it gives me the same results as the tips and balance machine, give or take.

Just for reference - My 300S balances at 3" at the tips with a DA-50, pull-pull on the rudder, my ignition battery mounted on the engine box, and 2-2000Mah packs just over the landing gear, everything else is stock.

On my 300S, my first flight c/g was at 2-3/4" aft of the front of the wing tips. It proved to be very stable for the first few flights, so much so that I soon moved it aft about another 3/8" from the initial c/g of 2-3/4".

Knowing that the initial c/g was supposed to be at 2-1/2", I was a little concerned, but I had already set up and flown one of the 28% Edges and had determined that Tom had provided a starting c/g that just about anyone could successfully begin with. My thoughts at that time were that it was probable that he had done the same with the Extras. This proved to be quite true.

As it was, even at 2-3/4" the 300S "felt" like it was a little nose heavy for my taste on landings, and moving the c/g aft a smidge made it a lot better.

Without knowing how you fly, or like to fly, I still think you will be pleased with the handling of the plane at the C/G reference you now have. The 28% Extra 300s is an extremely easy plane to fly, and lands better than that if you can believe it. It's quite a "floater" on the landing approach, so don't drive it at speed for the runway as you may have done before with smaller aerobats or you will overrun both ends of the runway and still not touch the ground.

As to your original question about the digital servos, being noisy is normal for any digital. Some are noisier than others, though. Unlike the "analog" servos you have used in the past, digitals are always working when any weight or load has been applied to them. Just the weight of the control surface that the servo is connected to is enough for the servo to act against the weight of the surface to maintain the transmitter defined center position. Yes, the current draw at neutral will be slightly elevated from what you have had before, but it's no big deal. So my best advice here is to sit back and enjoy the sound of speed and precision like you have never experienced before!