How CG Position Affects Handling

Center of gravity position is a balance between stability and controllability. A forward CG makes the airplane more stable — it wants to return to level flight — but the tail must pull down harder, which raises the stall speed, adds drag, and demands more elevator force to flare. Too far forward and there may not be enough elevator to hold the nose up at landing speed. An aft CG does the opposite: it makes the airplane lighter on the controls and more efficient, and it lowers the stall speed, but it reduces stability so the airplane is less willing to recover on its own. Too far aft and stall or spin recovery can become difficult or impossible. This is why the aft limit is the more safety-critical of the two and why the approved envelope must never be exceeded in either direction.