If you look at the corsair, from the firewall back, all there is is a 2" carbon tape along the top. Not enough in my opinion. We need the weight, so it doesn't make sense not to beef it up. I know of two corsairs that broke mid fuse last summer. The P-47 had no reinforcement at all. So, we're relying on foam and a thin layer of glass to support a 12 pound engine and another few pounds of lead. The P-51 has so many curves and angles that I think its probably inherently stronger. I still don't trust it. The repair job on the P-47 sucked, and I'm not even doing all the work!
I've already done the reinforcing on the corsair. Its in storage, or I'd share some pics. I took 6" 5.9oz carbon tape and ran it from the firewall back past the cockpit on the sides, and up to the cockpit on the top. Gary Prince had one crack in half right at the cockpit from a belly landing. To make it worse for me, I put a hatch on top of the corsair. I laid carbon down before I cut it, but didn't think to beef up the sides until the P-47 experience and what Gary went through.
I weighed both the kolm and the moki 250 last night, surprised the kolm beat it! I knew it wasn't ten pounds.
