2lbs. 6oz. doesn't sound too heavy to me...back when this plane was designed, a "light" 4 channel airborne set-up would weigh a good 10 - 12 oz. or so...
This airplane will fly different from most modern designs, because of the slightly higher wing loading, but 38 oz. would be considered fairly light back in the 70's.

A lot of airplanes nowdays are basically just a skin of covering material with barely enough of a wood skeleton to stretch the covering into the shape of an airplane...
That is great for flying characteristics...but not very durable...which was more of a factor back when radio systems were somewhat less reliable than todays systems.