Knowing the nature of balsa

The logging team usually consists of two native Ecquadorians, each armed with a broad Spanish axe, a machete, and a long pole sharpened like a chisel on one end for removing the bark from the downed trees. Because of the hilly terrain, an ox team may only be able to drag two logs to the river per day. At the saw mill the raw balsa is first rough cut into large boards, the carefully kiln dried, and finally packed into bales for shipment to the U.S. via ocean freighter.
Final cutting and finishing of our model aircraft balsa is done right here at the SIG factory. As a result of the balsa tree's fast growth cycle, both the quality and lightness of the lumber obtained from a balsa tree can vary enormously depending upon the tree's age at the time of cutting.Most hobby shops have a large rack of balsa sheets, sticks, and blocks that you can choose from if you are going to build a model airplane from scratch.
Undoubtably, because of the nature of balsa, the actual weight of each piece of wood of the same size can vary slightly. When you select the pieces you want to buy, you keep their final use in mind. Logically one should select the lightest grades for the lightly stressed model parts (nose blocks, wingtip blocks, fill-ins, etc.), and the heavier grades for important load bearing parts of the structure (spars, fuselage stringers, etc.). To a large extent, this selection is already partly done for you. Here at SIG, we purposely cut up our lightest raw balsa into sticks. Sheets are cut in the entire wide range of density.
Balsa trees grow naturally in the humid rain forests of Central and South America. Its natural range extends south from Guatemala, through Central America, to the north and west coast of South America as far as Bolivia. However, the small country of Ecquador on the western coast of South America, is the primary source of model aircraft grade blasa in the world. Blasa needs a warm climate with plenty of rainfall and good drainage. For that reason, the best stands of balsa usually appear on the high ground between tropical rivers. Ecquador has the ideal geography and climate for growing balsa trees. The scientific name for balsa wood is ochroma lagopus. The word balsa itself is Spanish meaning raft, in reference to its excellent floatation qualities. In Ecquador it is known as Boya, meaning buoy.
Article resource: http://www.balsafactory.com/