Proposed Fiberglass RC Airplane with a 1.5hp diesel engine.
My school proposed as a project to create an RC aeroplane using a Super Tigre GS40 engine that's gathering dust in a corner. The model is based on Tom Hunt's Vertigo from 1994. The wingspan is approx 76 inches and the length 56 inches given our calculations. The engine weighs around 400 grams. We are thinking of using 2 electric motors on the wings that generate each at around 500kvs.
We're unsure of what materials we want to construct it with, we are currently thinking of a fibreglass body with balsa wood reinforcements but we don't know how fast the weight of it can increase. We simulated it in SolidWorks with an all balsa wood construction and it weighed around 1.5kg but we're afraid it might be too fragile. What are the pros and cons of using a fibreglass construction when you factor in our weight and dimensions?