Duane:
Regarding the weight distribution on the sheeting for the right and left wing (post 288) , in the current 2 meter planes the engines are all inverted and the muffler (4cycle) or tuned pipe (2 cycle) are all on the center line so there is no need to worry about having the heavier sheeting on the left wing (opposite the muffler). Same goes for all of the 2 meter electric (or probably any electric for that matter) planes have all of the weight on the fuse centerline. However, on the SPA type of planes where you have a large muffler on the right side of the plane (assuming the engine is mounteed upright) then it would probably make sense to add some number of the heavier sheets on the left wing.

With regards to the weight of the plane I will offer this. When I decided I was going to compete at the Nats this year and all of the planes were to be weighed to ensure they met the 11lb weight limit (if you are over the weight limit, you are disqualified), I knew I had to build a new plane ( built a Black Magic VF3 with a YS 170 4 cycle) since my two current planes were over the weight limit. I used all of the lightest balsa and when I put the plane on the scales I was under the weight limit by 27 grams (less than one ounce) so the attention to the weight of the balsa was essential. Incidentally, I completed the plane from start to first flight in five weeks of flat out building and I had eight flights on the plane before leaving for the NAts.

Richard:
While both National Balsa and the Balsa Store list various sheets of balsa it is important to ensure that they have them in stock. For example, if you visit the balsa store website, and you look at 4" wide balsa sheets ( the lite 4-6# sheets) you will see that to the right of the description there is an oval that says "notify me". This indicates that they do not have any of the wood in stock. However, if you send Clay an e-mail asking what he has available in 4" wide and or 48" long sheets, he will reply and the best you will probably get at this time is 6 - 6.5 lb sheets (which are certainly a lot better than the 8# stuff).

Bill:
In my opinion (and based on my experience) glassing and painting a plane will add more weight than covering an entire model in "film". I can cover planes in film but I have always been a galss and paint guy (that is probably why my pattern plane mentioned above barely made weight). Additionally, since the canopy, chin cowl and the belly pan on the Black Magic were fiberglass, I decided to glass and paint the entire plane. If you want some tips on glassing and painting there are many threads on RCu however, if you go to the pattern thread and do a search on Black Magic VF3 build thread, Mike Hester, Dean Funk and a number of others offer very helpful info on glassing and finishing. Additionally, if you go to: www.nsrca.us and select forums there are threads on building and finishing. These methods apply to all models regardless of whether they are pattern planes or not. As mentioned earlier various weights of balsa all have their applications and areas of use. When I am making fuse sides (these fuselages are about 74" long so I have to splice the sides), I will put the heavier wood of the sides at the front of the fuse and the lighter wood on the aft section of the fuse. Just as an aside, some number of years ago I used to hang around a vinatge aviation museum who built, rebuilt or repaired pre 1930 aircraft. I had the opportunity to be around when they were rebuilding a fuse for a CUrtiss Jenny (JN4). Many of the fuse braces, diagonals, etc. were reusable (they dated back to 1917 and were stampled with the date of manufacture) but the top and bottom longerons (total of four) needed to be replaced. I was surprised to find that the top and bottom longerons from the back of the aft cockpit to the front of the plane were 2" square ash and the top and bottom longerons from the aft cockpit to the tail section were 2" square spruce that was heavily milled out. All of this was to keep the weight out of the tail of the plane.

One more thing. Earlier in the thread I saw some discussion of use of carbon veil. I have used the veil between the foam wing and the 1/16 balsa sheeting but have not used it for any other application. I couldn't find it but I think that there was also some discussion about the application media (PPG urethane I think) was not hardening. I have tried many different types of media to apply glass cloth to airplanes and after evaluating different brands of stuff, I have settled (been using it for the past 10 years) on System 3 brands (www.systemthree.com) epoxy. If you go to their website you will see different types of epoxies. They have the run of the mill epoxy ( they call this epoxy resin) which many use to glue things together, they have their structural epoxy (called T-88) and then they have an epoxy called Clear Coat. I use the T-88 for glueing firewalls and other pieces that are very structural in nature in the plane. I use the general epoxy for stuff like glueing the wing tubes into the fuse and other items that do not have as much stress applied on them. I use the Clear Coat to apply my glass cloth. The Clear coat is very light (thin) viscosity (something like the viscosity of Aero Gloss clear dope). If flows very well. If you are going to glass an airplane the first thing to do is to try to seal the wood so that little of the epoxy is soaked up by the wood. What I (and others) do is to put two or three coats of Balsatire or clear dope on the wood (sanding between coats). In my last plane, three coats of Balsa rite to the fuse (the fuse has a total area of about 800 square inches (this is total for both sides of the fuse) I added about 18 grams (about 2/3 ounce)) to the weight of the entire fuse. Once this is done, I then lay the cloth down, apply the clear coat expoy. Once the cloth is wettted out completely, I take an old credit card (need to have rounded corners and very smooth edges) and squegee most of the epoxy off. When you do this, you are looking to have the cloth all have the same color. Any light areas will be a lighter color than the cloth that is wetted out. Put the expoy where it is needed to wet the cloth out. I typically use very little epoxy to wet the cloth out. Although I dont recall the exact amounts, I believe that for the wings for my latest pattern plane I mixed about 28 grams of epoxy. I used this to cover the top (for example) of one wing panel (approximately 475 square inches). ONce the cloth was wetted out, I squegged more than half of the epoxy off. The current target wieght for a 475 square inch wing panel (sheeted, with wing tube sleeve, glassed, painted and with servo and control horns installed is about 14 ounces .

If you are looking for a source for very good glass cloth, try: www.thayercraft.com. They sell good quality glass cloth for very good prices. I recently ordered 25 yards of 1/2 oz cloth that is 22" wide and I got it for $27 (shipped). I also ordered 50 yards of 3/4 ounce cloth that is 44" wide for about $65 (shipped). The current trend on glassing pattern planes is to use the 3/4 cloth. It seems to be a little tighter weave than the 1/2 ounce and consequently it seems to absorb less epoxy.

Just my 2 cents.

Ed