The old Jedi Leadout offset trick …

Thanks for sharing that. With that simple picture and picturing the engine and rudder offset, I can see how it would want to go to the outside of the circle. I had one plane once that I thought was a real 'head-hunter'. It came towards teh center of teh circle more often than not.....

Good for the circulation, keeps the adrenaline going. As long as it doesn't hit your head.

Sweeping the leadouts back does indeed increase line tension. It only does this under 45 degrees. As soon as you pull into a wingover, the plane loses line tension up high due to losing speed and being yawed out. Speed is what keeps line tension. You want to sweep your leadouts as far forward as you can to attain line tension in level flight. If your just a roundy round flyer with a occasional loop, this is a non issue. If you want to fly the plane like you stole it, don't keep the leadouts swept back too far. This goes in hand with rudder offset. It's absolutely not necessary. It doesn't allow the plane to fly tangent to the circle to attain the needed speed to maintain proper line tension. Rudder offset isn't going to save a plane that loses line tension. Many add engine offset, rudder offset and sweep the leadouts rearward. You now have a plane that flies like a turd and loses line tension when you try to fly overhead maneuvers.

Yep, there is "too much of a good thing” …and yes I’m "just a roundy round flyer”… My 1/2A planes were never very good at stunting , same as me as a pilot … Just a non competitive Fun Flyer , I’m happy to just go round and round ...

I'm a roundy-round flier too. Although I have been known to do some pretty good 'Figure 9's'! Also, I have not really designed anything of my own, and I do keep teh lines as per the plans cause I think the ones who designed them know a lot more than lil old me.

When I set-up the lead-out guide-position on my own designs, I generally suspend the model by the lead-outs.. and mark the position on the wing-tip where the models' "nose" drops just a few (2-3) degrees. My five latest designs have zero rudder-offset.. and zero thrust-offset.

I'll also be experimenting with L/H propellers on four of those five designs, which are set-up for Cox .049 reed-valve engines for their reverse-rotation capability.