So last evening I laid up the first Cloudster
fuselage side using 5/32" square balsa strips as shown below.
In the picture below, the 3/16" square two
sides are at the top of the picture and the 5/32" square side is at the
bottom.
I weighed the 3/16" square side on the
AccuLab scale and it weighed 7 grams as shown below.
Then I weighed the 5/32" square side and it weighed 6 grams as shown
below.
I was very surprised to find that there was
only one-gram weight savings by using the smaller 5/32" square balsa
strips! I guess part of the reason there is so little difference is the
reduction from 3/16" square down to 1/8" X 3/16" for the vertical
members in the aft portion of the fuselage. Considering the framing of
both sides and the cross member on top and bottom, 5/32" square balsa
strips will save less than 4 grams all total.
I have wasted some time and materials going
through this exercise, but at least now I know. Therefore, I am going to
proceed with the Cloudster construction using the two sides I have
already built out of 3/16" square
strips................................Tandy