Most places on the internet and written material state that the center of
gravity should be no less than one tube diameter infront of the center
of pressure....
What is too far infront of center of pressure?
My Hyperloc 300 with altimiter , with 38/480 tube and 230 grams of clay
(I211 / I300 reload) comes in at 2.5 to 3 times the body diameter.
8.5"
That seeems fine to me. 1 caliber is a minimum for most applications. I usually design my scratch builds for 1.5-2 calibers with motor loaded. It will allow you the flexibilty for some bigger motors too. The only real drawback I can think of is being overstable does make you more vulnerable to weathercocking coming off the pad if its windy, but with that rocket I wouldn't worry about it. Lots of my PML kits are 3 calibers or so overstable and they all fly great. Unless you plan to fly in high winds I don't really see being overstable as a problem.
I'm a bit of a heretic in this department. Old timers will smile and remember my many iterations of "BoB", which was a Vaughn Brothers kit. "BoB" had perhaps 12-14 calibers of stabilit. BoB always flew bullet straight.
I would guess that I typically have 2.5+ calibers of stability.
Like BP, my broad rule of thumb is "more is better" 🙂
Honestly, the only time you ever have to worry about overstability is when you fly a rocket on a motor that can barely lift it in high winds. Unless you're doing that, more than 1 or 2 calibers is just fine. I have several rockets with 5 or so, and one with 15, and they all fly perfectly. The one with 15 is one of the straightest flying rockets I own.
Like BP, my broad rule of thumb is "more is better"
My L3 is standing at 5-6 calibers, and I'm confident it will fly straight. Lighter models will weathercock into the wind the more stable they are, but for high power and a hefty bird, rarely will wind make much difference. Although, last year at an early launch, I had an L2 attempt get hit by a wind shear, and it made a pretty straight (left) turn into the wind. But it was five pounds or less. In other words, don't worry about being overstable. Far better than the alternative! 😯