Unable to wait any longer, I went ahead and framed up the fuse.

However, before doing so, I made a couple of modifications:

In order to guarantee proper nose gear length and adequate prop clearance (maybe even a 9" prop), I extended the fuse nose by 10 mm as described in the above linked post. This will provide a nose gear bay with a pivot to wheel base length of 4-1/8" which will leave the model level using 3-3/4" lengths on the mains. 1-3/4" wheels will be used on the mains and 1-1/2" on the nose.

I also decided to add 1/32" balsa doublers to the fuse wing saddle area which extend to the edge of the 1/2" triangle stock at the top. While 1/32" balsa is almost paper thin, the balsa/CA/balsa laminate produced a much stiffer center section. This might also optionally provide strength to remove material for lightening purposes. I decided to postpone all lightening (if any) until after the model is ready for covering.

Without nose and tail bottom blocks, nose fairing section and canopy, the fuse is now at an even 4 oz - unsanded

So far so good. I'm now fairly confident that I'll be able to have a finished uncovered airframe weight of ~18 oz (wing 8 oz/fuse and empennage 10 oz).

The misalignment of the fuse wrt the plans is of course due to the 18.5% wider fuse from F1 to F3.

Enjoy the pics!

David.