The instructions for determing the basic empty weight of the helicopter are included in the POH. It suggests a method of weighing that uses small pieces of angle placed under the skids and the use of two scales placed at the GC location on each skid. I came up with a method that worked better for me.
I was unable to find any accurate digital scales that were economically priced that would weigh over 500 pounds each. I did find some scales on Ebay at $39.00 each that weigh up to 440 lbs. Slinging the helicopter is not necessary as it was a simple matter to just lower it onto the scales using the ground handling wheels. One scale was placed just forward and another just behind the CG on each skid.
I did hoist it from the mast in anticipation of trying to figure out how much ballast weight will be needed, but it's quite difficult to stabilize it while it's swinging from the ceiling. I decided to use the POH recommended 14 lbs of lead and will tweak it if necessary after the first hover. By using 14 lbs of ballast I was mathmatically able to show that the Weight and Balance is within limits for solo and dual operations (by the way, 14.10 lbs of lead is all that the ballast cylinder will physically hold).
After preparing the aircraft as described in the manual I determined the aircraft's empty center of gravity by placing an iron pipe evenly spaced forward of the rear skid bracket on each side. I was able to slowly and carefully nudge the helicopter back and forth, rolling it along the pipe, until it balanced perfectly (photo 2 below). This worked best kneeling in front of the left skid using the front of the skid to steady the helicopter as it was gently rolled back and forth. It doesn't take a lot of force to move it when it's balanced on a 3/4" piece of pipe. I then measured 91" from the rear skid leg to the datum in front of the helicopter and maked this location on the floor in-line with the skid. I then measured back to the CG where the helicopter was balanced on the pipe from this datum. Empty CG=78.6
