OK Guys;

I have acquired an older Goldberg Extra 300 (90 size) that was built from a kit (kit #K55) it looks good and I have flown it BUT it flew like a brick.

I finally checked the weight and found that it came in at about 10.5 pounds... the listed Flying weight on the instructions is 7.5 to 8.5 pounds! http://www.carlgoldbergproducts.com/.../gbga0055.html

No wonder it flew poorly! [X(]

So for the passed year I have been shaving off corners and replaced the wheels, landing gear, engine, cutting back the cowl - all the things that I could think of to reduce the weight of this plane... and it is still too heavy... 9lbs 10 oz. with the cowl removed [:@][:'(]

The wing alone is 2 lbs 6 oz (foam core)
The Fuse alone is 7 lbs 4 oz

So now I am left to look for ways to cut off a pound and a half from this plane... BUT !

Before I go too crazy - I thought that I'd ask the RCU if this is a normal weight or if the builder just managed to add too much wood/glue or something??

My point and question; Was this a poorly designed plane (too heavy) or was the extra weight a matter of the builder doing something wrong?

So let's throw it out there for discussion!