For what it's worth, this year I finished my 40 size Avistar conversion, and have been flying it the past 2 months. More of a challenge to take off and land, but a lot of fun. Here's what I did to convert it:
- Carbon fibre landing gear positioned so that the wheel axel was exactly below the leading edge of the wing.
- Using an extension, moved the battery to about 3 inches forward of the horizontal stab for better balance.
- Attached a tail wheel assy to the bottom of the fuz, and epoxy to the bottom of the rudder. Should have used a stronger wire though. That's for later.
- Replaced the gutless 40LA with an OS 61FX. 12x6 prop.
- Moved the fuel tank, same size, to the cabin area.
No need to add any lead weights to the tail, and the balance is right on. As to power... well I can say there is no shortage!!! If you get low and slow on final, add in some power and gain an easy 50 feet, Right Now! It cruises at about 25% power, which keeps the gas consumption low, and there is no shortage of power on takeoff. The landings are a little faster due to the slight weight increase, but not a problem.
Many at the club said a 60 was way too big for the 40 Avistar. I use the left stick to tame the power as needed. Works fine, and the added power can be quite nice in a good bounce or wind gust.
So, if anyone wants to give a conversion a try, I recommend it.
Rich, World Class Navigator Low Time Pilot