RE: Is 55 pounds extremely critical?
I'm a member of the club that voted to not allow experimental aircraft even with a waiver. The reason for it was that the allowed flight area of our field is fairly narrow because of recreational areas nearby, and the bigger planes would be cramped to stay within it. There were no issues with the planes themselves or the pilots who fly them, simply the practical matter than big models needs lots of space and we don't have it.