"Balance Bug" CG Plane Balancer

[Pogo]

Good job Pogo, I've been thinking of doing that as well, nothing fancy, just give me the CG.
I have a Great Planes balancer that works fairly well, but there's nothing like wrestling with it then you're trying to hover a 1600 mm airplane above it while trying ti get the rulers to stay in the right position.
Many a colorful metaphor has been created while attempting this......

Grossman56

Yes, I like simple. The pivots only go maybe 20 degrees forward and back so the model won't slide off- it's stable enough that I've shifted batteries around with the plane on the balancer , for example this 13 lb. B-17.
Tom

[MikeT]

Ah yes the GP balancer dance.LOL

Been there done that.

Mike

[boomer108]

Ah yes the GP balancer dance.LOL

[Grossman56]

Good job Pogo, I've been thinking of doing that as well, nothing fancy, just give me the CG.
I have a Great Planes balancer that works fairly well, but there's nothing like wrestling with it then you're trying to hover a 1600 mm airplane above it while trying ti get the rulers to stay in the right position.
Many a colorful metaphor has been created while attempting this......

Grossman56

[Pogo]

Here's a closer though blurry shot of the pivot.
Tom

[Pogo]

i made this years ago and it's very easy to use when balancing larger models. I had the stuff on hand so cost was zero. :Cool:
Tom

[fhhuber]

Many forget that CG is a point in 3D space.

And when dealing with Pattern competition aircraft it does matter in all 3. CG too high or low causes roll with rudder in knife edge.

[Twowingtj]

For large aircraft I use 3 scales. Prop the plane up level if its a taildragger. One wheel on each scale and a little math and you know the CG

That method also gives you a read on lateral balance as well.

[fhhuber]

For large aircraft I use 3 scales. Prop the plane up level if its a taildragger. One wheel on each scale and a little math and you know the CG

[JFandL]

I have the EZ Balancer plus, I do have aircraft that top out at 69 lbs. and wing spans of 120 plus inches. Its a must for very large aircraft. For the smaller aircraft I use the GP CG machine which does good for small airframes.

[bill34207]

Well call me foolish, but I am going to pony up the cash for the EZ Balancer Lite. Heard back from the owner and he said that they have accurately balanced planes weighing less than 1lb.
I plan on buying more planes in the future, so I will put it to good use for sure....

http://www.ezbalancer.com/id74.html

A friend of mine has the bigger version of this one. I've borrowed his a time or two (when working on bigger planes) and it works very well. Personally I think they are over priced especially the one for the larger models. If it was the same price as the "Lite" I'd buy one. :)

[xviper]

I've always used my fingers and never had a problem at any time.

:saywha Best wash your hands before dinner. LOL
(Punch line to an old adolescent joke .......................... "By the grace of God and with a little help from these two fingers, I got it all back in." If you don't know the joke, it's OK. It was a groaner anyway.) :Poo:

[PappaBear]

Hi JohnnyJet,

I've seen the device you are referring to, and you are quite right the full size are balanced this way. Yes it is a great tool for balancing large models which can be difficult to do.

Martin.

[PappaBear]

I can't really comment on any of the cg balance devices as I have never used one. I've always used my fingers and never had a problem at any time. It may not be pin point accuracy of a purpose made machine, but it is close enough to fly the model and adjust after flying. Either more weight forward or rearwards.

Martin.

[Alpha]

What an interesting device, I haven't seen that before for RC.

[JohnnyJet62]

XICOY ELECTRONICA SL - CG BALANCING DEVICE
I thought I would add another perspective to this post. I have the Great Planes CG Machine, and it works well with models that are of modest size. (up to 60 inches or so). Also, I have some rather large airplanes, and balancing with the GPCGM does not work, since it is not capable of supporting the weight of the models. Up until now, I have used finger tips for these models, but it requires at least 2 people.
Recently, I purchased the Xicoy Electronica SL. This is a Balance and Weight Meter device. In a nutshell, there are 3 small round scales (one for each landing gear) which plug into an electronic controller. You have to input some measurements (distance between main gear and nose gear/tailwheel, distance from main gear to CG, and distance from main gear to point at which weight will be added/removed), but once that is done, you set your model on the scales, and it tells you exactly where the CG is currently located. By adding weight to the balance point as displayed on the electronic controller, you can balance your airplane. It is accurate to within 1mm of the CG point.
This is the way that full size aircraft are CG'd, and it makes it really easy to balance larger airplanes. Of course, it works with both Tricycle gear and Taildragger configurations.
The device retails for $299. However, I got mine from Chief Aircraft for $279, and the shipping was free. Here is a link to the site if you are interested: http://www.chiefaircraft.com/xcy-cgcombo.html
I highly recommend this device if you have larger airplanes and you don't mind spending the money. It's the most useful and the coolest "tool" that I have in my hanger.

[MikeT]

I had the opportunity to borrow a friends EZ Balance to use on a few airplanes. It is BY FAR the best CG machine I've ever used. Is it worth $200+ I think so as it will last forever and should hold it's resale value if you wanted to sell it.

Merry Christmas

Mike

[jackcutrone]

I have been using the Great PLanes balancer and I have to say I don't care for it much. My experience is that it is hard to get the plane to stay on those small foam pads. The planes are forever slipping off and it gets extremely frustrating.

I mark the suggested CG point and then put the plane on the balancer. You have to look at one side at a time to see if the foam pad is at the CG point and then go to the other side to put that side at the CG point. Then go back around to the first and recheck. In theory, it should work easily with the measuring arms. In practice, it doesn't. The arm's rulers and metal post to set the distance from the leading edge, don't always produce an accurate measurement since they are often not level depending on the shape of the wing surface. And everytime you adjust the battery you have to recheck and then it falls off again.

I built a Vanessa rig but that isn't always very easy to use either. Am thinking of the EZ balancer though it is not cheap. I could build one cheaper, I suppose, but it somehow seems like cheating the guy who designed it and holds the patent.

[WintrSol]

The Vanessa machine is nearly free, and works really well for most models: http://www.tarmac.org.au/Vanessa%20CG%20Machine.pdf

[Grossman56]

I like the look of the EZ balancer, but the price is up there. Have to wait for Christmas or something.

Grossman56