I've always wondered why someone hasn't tried to farm it in a place like Hawaii or even the deep south where weather conditions might be good enough for it.

Well, if it grows well in areas where there is coffee and bananas, you would not have much choice, would you? Hawaii and Puerto Rico come to mind. Of course, shipping from Hawaii would not be cheap. PR is closer. Of course in the Guatemala forest, the labor most likely costs 2cents per day...

Gerry

You got it the "Sigs" are gone. R.I.P.

I hope Sig stays untill my life is over! Because I would not know what to do these last few years! I love Sig kits, I do agree some times the wood is less then perfect, But its a Sig kit and I love the Sig kits!!

I am growing Balsa in my basement. I am selling it by the oz how many bags can I put you down for?

I thought a guy I knew was doign that once. Turned out it wasn't balsa or tomatoes or anything I wanted...

I'm sorry, what were you saying? I didn't catch anything but this. I don't even remember where they're from now. I better read it again.

Just buy NIB classics from the auction site. Try here in the forum. Better yet, go to that electric site where they don't know what to do with a balsa kit and they dump it for $20!
There is more balsa hidden away in closets than a man can count, good old fashioned balsa, dense, light, even grain, generous amounts of spruce, hardware, etc. When I build them, I toast the guy that bought it, for choosing a wonderful kit he left behind in his estate. Pica, SiG, Midwest, even Tower are among my favorites. The boxes are yellow, sometimes the plans have a water stain. That is the charm for me. I picked up an old pattern plane kit that had 5 shipping labels layered on the top of the box. It all stops here, and finally sees the building board.

Sig kits love them. I have two kougars I am flying. One is electric and the other has a Rossi 45. A King Kobra on the boards getting updates after the covering fell off. (Damm moneycote) this time fiberglass and paint. retracts, rossi 61re with tuned pipe.

In the box I have another kougar and King Kobra. I also have the small Kobra. Some excellent designed airplanes that can handle everyday flying for years. Unlike an arf most I had won't last a season without falling apart.

GO SIG!

Yes that is how I ended up with a couple I have now! I just hope they are not done, I know with things being what they are now allot of guys have quit the hobby but some of us are hanging in there and need good quility kits like Sig and Great planes! I have not tried Balsa USA kits yet, One reason more into World War two war birds and they have some nice kits for World War one, They are pretty planes when built for sure!

SigMan Sayz, dont give up yet !

Re Sig: I talked to a lady at Sig about 2 years ago about ordering their P-51B. She was very friendly and told me they had none in stock but gave me 4 or 5 of their customers business #s to call. I asked what was the problem with low inventory & she said they were not ordering any more because the Chinese supliers had raised their price and would not come down. I bought one from one of the hobby shops and just love it. Big box shipping, $60....WoW! My first car cost $125. What a great airplane. Mechanical retracts were included, flaps, looks great and flies great with my Evo 100. I would hate to see them go out of business. They have a long history that I know some of, Maxie Hester, Haze Sig's husband was involved and of course Hazel flew a full scale clipped wing cub for years that they successfully modeled . Pioneers man. wallace.tharp former UAV man

PSGUGRAD: Great rant....good answers and I agree with it all. I have never been to Columbia, but I am thinking Thailand. To be clear, we are now talking women not balsa. wallace.tharp former UAV man

I just ordered 1 more 1/6 Clipped wing Cub and 1 1/6 full wing Cub so now I have 2 of each just in case Sig stops selling these kits in the future. Both kits will not be in until after April because of the balsa shortage.

I wonder how much of there being a balsa shortage is true? Just like clothes are suppose to go up due to a cotton shortage. And coffee went up several years ago due to a coffee shortage as many other shortages but then you never hear of them again but have to keep paying the higher prices that never come down after there seems to be plenty, Scams if you ask me! Not saying the the kit makers are doing the scamming but whom they are getting the balsa from and of course we are the ones that pay for it in the long run!

<span style="font-size: small">Not sure how well balsa grows in the foothills of the Rockies, but Specialized Balsa from Loveland, COputs out a fine product. I bought all of the spruce and balsa I needed for the AeroWorks E300LProfile, which I scratch built in '09 from them. Their planks were true, as were the sticks. Great Selection - low, medium, high density, and prices were competitive with Tower, Nosen, and a few others.</span>

Maybe someone could get the Hollywood crowd interested in doing lines of balsa dust. That would bring balsa in by the boat load from Columbia.

Great, I'll get arrested for snorting and trafficing balsa wood.

Maybe Charlie Sheen?
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I dont know about sig going out. but i would think other would go first, like balsa usa, presion cut kits ect.
sig probley sells close to if not more than great planes wood kits. so i do belive there is a balsa problem
great planes kits dont usally have as good wood as sig does. i would rather wait for a kit then have bad wood.

Could be the end of an era in some ways....Balsa could get prohibitively expensive for model building.
I have been amazed at what you can build with PVC in various thicknesses and endless widths..the glues are amazingly strong...it is light and durable inexpensive , made in america and you can sand it to shape ( well kinda) OK curse me now..but if its in the interior framewok and not visible who cares? try it out, you will be amazed at its applications...
I am not looking to giving up my balsa addiction either...but we better start considering alternatives...look how far carbon fiber has come !

Geez this Hobby is being attacked from all sides! The FAA, prices of stuff going up and now balsa! Maybe we will have a hobby in ten years? But makes you wonder what the materials will be that they will be built out of? I am finishing up number 56 and 57 airplane in the shop If I only crash two a year maybe I will make it to the end!

From a "Down Under" perspective I can give you the following reasons for the decline of the likes of Sig - VMAR, Phoenix, Seagull, Black Horse. Add to that lot VQ. All out of Vietnam, All relatively cheap. It's what most of the newer entrants to the hobby want - cheap ARF's which can be replaced cheaply when they crash them!!!

ARF's are still made of balsa but you are right, Has not helped the Kit manufactors! With that many outfits from other countrys building ARF's there would be less balsa going to Kits made here! Not really into the ARF's I would rather build kits because of the enjoyment I get but that said there is an ARF only thread I have found interesting in what they are doing to make the planes thier own! It seems like there is always a new ARF builder coming out in the mags and I guese thats more need for the balsa!

I don't know about Sig's financial health, all I know is I want to build a Seniorita but can't find a kit for anything!

One thing I can attest to is the vast increase in use of balsa for wind turbine blades. Right now there's a project going on about 30 minutes north of me that will ultimately see several hundred new wind turbines built. They're monsters, too. Huge blades, all with cores of balsa.