My build is getting close enough to completion that I can get a reasonably good idea as to the final weight. Depending on what motor/prop/spinner combination I use I'll end up around 525-550 grams not including the battery (assuming I don't have to add lead to get the CoG correct). Something about that weight was bugging me, so I looked back at one of my old posts:
Interesting... I just noticed the last line of text on the "instructions" says the take-off weight is 220 grams, and empty weight is 200 grams. Anybody got a 20 gram 1300-2200mAh battery? And I'll be surprised if I can fit more than a 1500 in the battery box, much less a 2200.
Realistically, their claim of 220 grams is probably just a mistake. Or a complete lie. Possibly just a random number pulled from somebody's ass.
Then I went to Hobby King's website to look at motors and checked the stats on the 182, and noticed they list the bare airframe weight at 500-550g without covering and the AUW at 750-800g. Were those wights there previously? I don't remember seeing them before. If their bare airframe doesn't include covering, I would assume it also doesn't include electronics, so at that point 500-550g would be correct if you used the heaviest balsa on the planet!
My build should end up close to the 750-800g range they list depending on my battery weight. I'm still thinking about using a 1500, but we'll see how it balances first.
I compared the current weight of the plane against another balsa build I did, the Navion I built for the Model Airplane News "Build to Win" contest. The Navion was a pig at around 675g without battery, thanks to the retractable gear and heavy construction methods I used, but it flies nicely and cuts through the air well. The weight forces me to keep the speed up, which is fine until it's time to land. For the size of the plane it's still on the heavier side compared to others I've built. The wing isn't very large so this should translate to higher wing loading. Eventually I may do some math to figure out the actual numbers.
Also, the covering is almost done, as shown in the pictures below. A few little spots to tidy up, windows need to go in, steering linkage and pushrods need to be attached, etc. The "little" stuff that takes forever!
But at the end of the day, I'm honestly just not thrilled with the design/look of this model so I haven't spent a lot of time getting creative with the fuselage covering design. I'm still going to cut some vinyl numbers for the sides, but other than that it's going to be somewhat plain. The biggest thing I dislike about the plane now is the cowl. It's just a big blocky blob of lazy garbage design that ruins the rest of the plane. Like putting Mike Tyson's face tattoo on a super model's face with a Sharpie marker. After the plane flies (fingers are crossed) I might consider building a better cowl from scratch. We'll see what happens in Spring.