Forward center of gravity affects stability by:

• A. Forward CG increases longitudinal stability
• B. Forward CG decreases stability
• C. Forward CG has no effect on stability
• D. Forward CG decreases stall speed

Answer: (A)

Forward center of gravity changes how the airplane responds to pitch disturbances. When the CG is ahead of the neutral point, the airplane is statically stable in pitch: if the nose pitches up or down slightly, the aerodynamic forces interact with that forward weight distribution to generate a restoring moment that tends to bring the nose back toward the trimmed attitude. In practical terms, a forward CG makes the aircraft resist unwanted pitch changes more effectively, so it tends to return to level flight after a disturbance.

Keep in mind this increased stability comes with a trade-off: the forward CG reduces pitch control effectiveness, making it harder to rotate on takeoff or flare for landing. It does not directly lower stall speed; stall speed is governed more by weight and wing loading, not CG location.