My large planes can't pitch up.

[PTNLemay]

I'm trying out the new Mk3 cockpit and I'm having trouble getting much altitude with the planes I've built. I think it might be the mass, I have to empty most of the tanks just to get it to lift off the runway. Here the front tank is full and the other two are empty, and he just barely manages to pitch up. I tried to make the wings larger to provide more lift but they start to disassemble as they get any bigger. I've already had to resort to a lot of reinforcement struts to hold them together.

http://i.imgur.com/mBh6087.png

http://i.imgur.com/51sqayQ.png

Am I missing something rather obvious? Does it need more thrust, bigger wings, less mass? I'm using the 0.4 lift ailerons, so I don't think I could make those any better (the 0.6 one has a corresponding increase in weight, so I think it ends up being the same thing). Any tips and tricks form professional aeronauts would be appreciated. My ultimate goal is to get this thing into orbit (hence the big rocket in the center).

Edited January 2, 2015 by PTNLemay

[Anquietas314]

You should post a screenshot showing center of mass, center of lift and center of thrust. Going by your screenshots, CoL is probably quite far behind CoM, which makes it nose-heavy and hard to pitch up.

[PTNLemay]

It is very nose heavy... I just remember hearing the old "feathers on the front of the arrow" analogy, so I always tend to put the nose very heavy. I'll try and put the fuel in the second tank.

Also, do ailerons on the front wings actually help, or are they just confusing my lift mechanism?

Edited January 2, 2015 by PTNLemay

[Anquietas314]

Also, do ailerons on the front wings actually help, or are they just confusing my lift mechanism?

It really depends on the design I think. I have a few plane designs where having control surfaces there gives it the pitch authority to lift off the runway even with the wheels at the far ends of the plane, away from CoM (the plane's too long to have it any other way). I've also had a few designs before where it made no noticeable difference though.