ORIGINAL: primalmu
My initial concern with balsa is that if my first flight results in a catastrophic crash then I may very well trash a significant portion of the plane.
Remember that this is true no matter if the plane is made of foam OR balsa! That is something the marketing hype overlooks as do those who buy into it.
As someone once told me, learn to fix the pilot not the plane.
At least with the Multiplex clone ( glider ), the part that breaks off most often is the nose cone and it tends to do so in one piece that is easy to glue back in.
Unfortunately Tower discontinued their "indestructable" "foam flex" planes this year.
Let us know how it goes.