I have another set of wings on order which are due to arrive anyday. I would be interested to check what i get for the brace. It could be that the wrong material was packed.

I referred to the brace as hardwood because that is what GP's documentation said.

It maybe of some interest for you to know that Balsa wood is in fact a hardwood (determined by wood structure not density). I would like to think that GP use a different type of hardwood for their brace arrangements!