You are right. The whole fusalage is light ply which makes it heavy. I am going to use the front for the wing saddle & the rear for my servos. The center will be all stix. He has (3) 1/4 in. firewalls also. plus the landing gear plate and bottom are plywood. Will replace all that with other material. Am trying to get it down to 10 to 11 lbs. with engine