An aircraft includes a fuselage having a longitudinal axis, a wing assembly, and a fuselage positioning mechanism operatively connecting the fuselage to the wing assembly. The fuselage positioning mechanism is operable to move the fuselage relative to the wing assembly in a longitudinal direction parallel to the longitudinal axis between a fuselage maximum forward position and a fuselage maximum aft position. When the aircraft for flight, a position of a center of gravity of the aircraft relative to a center of lift is determined. The fuselage can be moved relative to the wing assembly to bring the center of gravity within an allowable range of distances from the center of lift to balance the aircraft for flight. The fuselage positioning mechanism can be automated to allow adjustment of the fuselage position during the flight of the aircraft.