Foam core wing vs. built-up
Ben,
Yes, there is a difference. When you add the fiberglass between the balsa and the core, it only takes slightly more epoxy, or polyurethane to wet out the glass and put the sandwich together. If you're adding the glass to the top of the balsa you have to add more resin plus more weight. Now, I don't claim any engineering skills, but in my experience, I's say that the glass in the sandwich is stronger because the glass is inside, has components on both sides, as opposed to having one open side as it would be as the outside layer. Make up a test sample and see for yourself. Were only talking 1.5 oz. cloth here so, your not talking about adding a lot of weight. It's also a lot easier than glassing the outside skin.......Jeff......