Balsa wood is wood derived from the balsa tree, a South American plant known as Ochroma pyramidale. Ecuador, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia are currently the largest producers of balsa wood. Balsa wood is classified into three types on the market based on its density: light 120 kg/m3, medium 120180 kg/m3, and heavy > 180 kg/m3. Balsa wood is typically used for hobbies and aeromodelling, medium for industrial composites, and heavy as a cheaper and more widely used substitute for hardwood.Although certain parts of the balsa airplane require a stronger structure, balsa wood was chosen for aeromodelling because of its lightweight. Balsa wood is widely used to make radio-controlled boats in addition to aeromodelling.