I checked Out The $40,000 Saberwing Airplane

[ebetancourt]

Ya'll are leaving out the Waco Taperwing. First civilian airplane to perform an outside loop; held the record for continuous outside loops; Cuban Eight was developed in one; I can testify to +4Gs fairly often. Of course it has four spars.

there is even a jet assisted version flying airshshows currently:
The Screamin’ Sasquatch http://eaavintage.org/the-screamin-sasquatch/

It has some carbon fiber though. Not sure the wings are still wood.

 

[Bell206]

The one thing that wood gets overlooked on is its inherent resistance to material fatigue to the point most wood structures are time unlimited or an on condition item. Wood is still used in new designs when it fits those design requirements because of its fatigue tolerance. For example, the main rotor blades on a KMAX helicopter have Sitka Spruce spars with fiberglass airfoils. The problem with wood is that its loading limits can only increase by increasing the physical size of the structure or the complexity of the construction.

 

[Brad Smith]

Wood is a very good material for spars, even for high-performance aircraft. Two proven examples of experimental high-performance aircraft using wooden wings/spars are the Falco F.8L/Sequoia 300 and the Pereria GP4.
Care must be taken when selecting the wood (don’t accept wood from the supplier without knowing if it’s within specs) and properly preserved once installed. Properly engineered, wood doesn’t fatigue like aluminum and is way more pleasant to work with than composites. The biggest issue now is acquiring aircraft grade Sitka Spruce and its up to the builder to ensure the quality of the wood used.

Falco F.8L

GP4