Originally Posted by
skylark-flier
I don't know about everybody else but I build my planes to pretty much survive combat conditions - in other words, HEAVY!! Ex: my CG Sr Falcon was designed to come to 6.25 lbs - it was originally 7.25 and presently weighs 7.5 lbs. My Stratus was supposed to be 6.5-7.5 lbs, she's 8.5 lbs. All my planes are this way, except the Kadet Mk-II. She's supposed to be 5 lbs, mine came out at 4.875 lbs - - FIRST EVER PLANE TO BE LESS THAN DESIGNED, and I've been building since 1955. If I can make them this light, everybody else is probably making them at 4 lbs. You'll be fine.
I tend to build my "toys" as lite as I can. As I've told several in the boating world, "If you're going to build something, make it as lite as you can. It's a lot easier to add weight to a finished boat than it is to remove it". I tend to do that with my planes as well. If I can reduce the weight without compromising strength, why not do so? I've butted heads over it on more than one occasion as well, some would rather build a heavy boat so that it won't blow over rather than build a boat that will be competitive