Corrie wrote ...
... an article by Volksplane designer W.S. Evans
... with the conclusion that
it's not worth the risk for spars and longerons to use
non-certificated (and possibly compression-damaged) wood.


Certificated by whom? Anybody with a chainsaw & a porta-mill can
declare whatever grade they wish on any lumber they produce. Heck,
take the basic quality designations for #2 construction lumber & see
what percentage of the ordinary wall studs at Big Orange even meet the
specs stamped on them. I think a plane builder is far better off
performing his/her own pass/fail inspections than trusting Larry the
Lumberjack to have done so correctly at the mill.

Daniel