Darock,
I do not know how much the plane weighs yet, and have not started to try and balance yet either. I will definitely keep your suggestion in mind moving forward. it would be simple enough to add that ply sheeting to not only provide extra tortional strength, but also make sure the fuse is adequately sealed.

I did pick the extra because it was so much lighter, and seemed to be better match with my .46 ax. I did have my eye on the sukhoi though, and it will probably be my next model.

Thanks again for your reply and ideas!