Well, the verdict is in and the new plane, for all it being a pretty thing, is not a good flyer. It came out pretty tail heavy and so needed an absurd amount of weight in the nose to balance (and is still a bit tail heavy). This ended up bringing the all up weight well past the unacceptable level and made for a wallowing pig in the air. The wing, based on the USA-1, just doesn't have the carrying capacity for that sort of pork.

So, the choice is, make it lighter or it becomes a hanger queen. I'm not much for wall decoration, so the pig gets cut.

The plan is to peel off the bottom block and tail block, thin the height of the fuselage aft of the CG by a goodly margin. This will kill some of the side area (sigh) but will also lose a chunk of weight. I'll replace the bottom block and tail block with lighter units. Probably molded sheets. With any luck, I can peel off at least 3 ounces from the tail. The farther back the better. That will let me also lose the nose weight I put in. Three ounces off the tail will mean 5oz out of the nose (the amount of led in there) and take the plane from a 68oz snorter down to a svelte 60 and back to a flyable plane...I hope.

edit

If there's any interest, I'll post some pics of the operation.

Randy,

Please prepare for shipment to "Hangar Queen" Aumsville, OR.  when ready for transport
you may call 1-800-it's now mine toll free and a common thief will be dispatched pronto.
A faithful enactment of the enshrinement will be available to assuage your discomfort, and will be shipped to you free except for S&H <snicker>

Snug Lines

Marv

I love the "wallowing pig in the air" remark. I guess a little nip and tuck is in order. You've done such a great job finishing that plane that I know you won't leave any unsightly scars on that puppy.
Good luck DR. RANDY.

I'd suggest extending the nose and moving the engine and tank forward. I think the results will be more certain, at least. Maybe graft in a firewall and add an R/C type mount? Steve

I think Steve is on the right track here. Extending the nose will accomplish the removing of the 5 ounces not wanted up front and the extention will be minimum weight compared to the already heavy front end.  But I realize that it's not always an easy thing to do.

Well, she got cut today. The first pic is the bottom block cut off. The next the pieces that were removed (about 3.5oz worth). I had used some thinned epoxy and 1/2oz CF cloth to reinforce some 3/32 sheet for the original molded bottom block. The new unit will be unreinforced.  I'm still considering removing the tail block. Also a pic of the new piece in the mold.

Ty,

The paint was Certified Insignia White (very high solids) with some House of Kolor pearl added in. Total weight gain from the white: .5oz. It wasn't the white, it was the fillercoat. I just didn't spend enough time sanding it. And the nose was too short. Another inch of nose and the problem would have been less. But still, the overall gain from the finish was a porky 15oz (my usual finish for a similar sized plane is 8oz).

It comes down to not enough airfoil. The wing is simply not a high enough lift unit. The overall weight is now 65oz. Normally, absolutely fine for a ~760 square inch plane. But the USA-1 airfoil just can't carry the weight. It just can't. If I ever build this thing again, it will be with a different airfoil and layout for the wing.

Randy, just suggestion- with so much weight pickup in the finish probably the best place to start would be stripping off the wing covering.  That is likely where the bulk of the weight is.  I've found it's really hard to sand long enough and hard enough on covering over ribs.  too easy to sand through, so even a thin coat of paint or filler can add up to a lot of weight with all those square inches.