The costs of materials vary, depending on what grade or quality you want. Metal is easier to work with than wood, and is an easier material to understand. Don’t forget wood was once a living thing, and therefore may have been subjected to diseases or accidents which have weakened it’s structure. It’s also susceptible to moisture, which can dramatically alter it’s properties.

Fascinating stuff, wood. As a complete aside to your question, I was shown a pair of original, but non-airworthy, wing spars off a Bristol Fighter a couple of years ago. “Wow,” says I. “These must be about eighty years old then?”

“Nope,” came the response. “More like two hundred. They were over a hundred years old when they got converted from tree to aeroplane…”.

🙂

I dont know how you can say that metal is easier to work with than wood unless your dealing with a kit with metal parts that have already been cut or pressed into shape in a jig. Id say wood is as easy to work with as fiberglass in that the veneers can be molded into almost any shape. Yes wood was a living thing, infact it never really dies unless it decomposes. Wood will last thousands of years if properly cared for. The most important thing about wood is how well it is seasoned. Water is the biggest enemy to wood which can cause swelling or cracking which is why wood should be properly protected by a sealant. Things like disease and “accidents” I dont think are that big an issue as that really only affects the outer part of the tree, and can be readily detected early on. Wood has fantastic compression qualitys which is why it is still used as spars in sailplanes. It is also stiffer than composites and in my opinion is not used simply due to predudice of the average persons perception that it is “low tech”.