Stuka Stunt Main Forum · 20 of 20 known posts recovered
Best way to tell I know of is to do some hard ouside square loops. If the outboard wing pops up while doing it from the up leg to level, then you probably have too much tip weight. Back off on the weight until it doesn't pop the outboard tip upward on a hard outside corner. Use the outside corner because it's easier to seen the outboard wing come up than it is to see it go down on an inside loop.
Jim Pollock 
It will have less line tension, and will slightly roll in at you on corners. What you want is to have as much as necessary to make the airplane stay level in maneuvers. But, the best strategy for adjusting the tipweight for those without a lot of experience is to keep adding it 1/8-1/4oz at a time until something obviously bad happens (like, it obviously rolls away from you), then remove the last piece you put in. This gives you the maximum amount possible for however you are flying, and thus gives you the most robust line tension.
As you get more experience, the "obviously bad" point becomes more and more refined, and you will probably end up with less tip weight as the need for excess line tension fades, and the need to do clean and hard corners increases.
Brett
Absolutely,
Brett
Mike S
Since no one else mentioned it...sometimes it's difficult to separate the effect of too much tip weight from flap differential effect.
By that I mean the difference in effectiveness of one flap over the other.
A lot of typical stunt designs have longer inboard wings and longer inboard flaps. This sometimes creates a situation where the inboard wing lifts more on inside and outside maneuvers causing the outboard wing to appear to drop. This can be visibly evidenced by the preponderence of added "tabs" on the outboard flaps of many (even some top flyers) airplanes.
I mention this because sometimes no amount of weight removal will "fix" the problem that seems to be too much tip weight.
At some point lack of line tension can become a problem and still have the attendant wing drop on hard maneuvers.
Of course this problem is usually accompanied by an adverse yaw effect also but that may be more difficult to detect.
Sealing hinge lines can sometimes improve this situation but often it means resorting to a flap tab.
I just mention this so those less experienced at trimming than the experts here, can be aware of the possibility while chasing the tip weight problem.
Edited to correct a "mis" statement.
Randy C
I would say the best one could do if learning how to trim is take an ARF Cardinal, put an LA or ST 46 on the nose, bench trim it as best you can using one of the many articles written on the subject and go to town playing with control response, tip weight, flap warp, lead-out position etc.
If something makes it fly quirky move it back if it makes it fly better see how far you can go before it screws something up. Add two ounces of tip weight, bet you can see it hinge 
If you screw up so what it's an ARF....
I would say it is mistake even think that it is anything similar. Flaps tab has another function and if there is what to replace its function then it is rudder, not tip weight.
Tip weight is static load of outer wingm while tab makes differences in load between soft and heavy loads on wing in maneuvers.
I'm not trying to say that dynamically the effect is the same, certainly it is not. But to the neophyte learning to trim a stunt ship it might be difficult to discern whether wing drop (outboard) or wing (rise) inboard is caused by one or the other.
I fail to see how an application of rudder would do anything except exercerbate an out of trim flap differential. The differential primarily affects roll and the rudder primarily affects yaw. Yes I know there is some coupling but not in the primary mode.
Could you please explain further what you mean. Or maybe I've just learned nothing in 50 years of trimming stunt ships (could be).
Randy C
No. I say that flaps differential and tip weight are two distict trimming tools trimming another things.
Tip weight is for sidewise ballancing wing. That is clear.
The tab also does that, but its effect depends on flap deflection. You can see that even large tab has only minor effect in level flight. But the tab is very effective if maneuvers when the flap is defected. It is because the tab extends area of wing only little bit, but the same tab extends deflected flap much more (because of flap to wing chord ratio). So tab is primary used to make proper ballance in case that tip weight is proper for expample in level but too much in maneuver or vice versa.
Simply if plane is well ballanced in level flight and round figures but rolls out in hard corners, then it needs larger tab.
And - the same thing can be solved by rudder (to some extend) ... so that is why I mentioned rudder, but it is coupled with yaw. So if that rudder is not able to solve the problem, or if the yaw is out of usefull range, it needs tab, and that allows to trim yaw and asymetric roll separately.
Randy C
Average means nothing !!
And neither does 1 ounce !!
The tip weight required is enough to balance one specific airplane, including the leadouts and leadout guide, which are significant variables.
My method:
Lift the model by the prop shaft and rudder and see which way it tips. If it tips just barely outboard, you are safe to fly. If it tips inward, you will eat the plane if you don't add more weight.
If you wanna be really scientific, tape 1/2 ounce to the inboard tip and add outboard weight until it just balances. You will then have 1/2 ounce of TRUE tip weight.