foam or wood

now that i have started several projects using hybrid components i have become more aware of the differences between wood and foam; their advantages and disadvantages; their limitations. i want to build some sailplanes with modern lines, hence using some fuselages already made of foam or glass, but with wing and stab of my own design, with open frame, made of balsa, and iron-on covering.

the main difference is that with foam/glass the stress is spread uniformly, whilst with wood it is concentrated on joints. there are modelers who, like me, have been building long before any other material than balsa was known, but i have been interested in the development of new ideas and materials. at the beginning there were some attempts to introduce molded plastic, but it was too heavy if was strong enough. now with the advent of eps, epp, epo (and who knows what is around the corner), things have changed. and with so many planes ready (or almost) to fly, some of wood and others from foam, it easy to see why foam wins: it is made to survive crashes way better than wood. and if you want to build something new, foam allows you to do it way faster-and requires less parts, in general less precision-and survive impacts much better. besides easier to repair. in recent times i have designed and tested so many planes that if made of balsa would take me 10 times longer.

so, there is a place for everything and every1: if you want to build that scale plane with all the details, and you no longer crash or even have hard landings and wait for a day with no wind, and you like to build, then go for balsa.

but if you are like the vast majority of guys who don't have the time, the patience or the skills, then go get a foamy rtf and fly! besides, as they are so resilient and take so much punishment, you will learn to fly faster: if you hit hard, most of the time just pick it up and launch it again. or if you break it, glue it and fly again in 5 minutes. you can't do that with balsa. your choice.