Thought I'd post some pics and explain what I've done so far after reading a few posts from others like yourself.
First thing I removed the plastic pilot. Not only does he look like a retard he weighs too much. (No offence to the mentally handicapped or the over-weight intended. I probably qualify for both.)
Second I brushed a thin layer of 30-min epoxy from the cockpit panel to the firewall , laying fiberglass cloth in strips between every stringer and along the edges of the wing-mount area. While I was at it I epoxied the wing hold-down bracket and any other hot glued item I could find. Weighing the fuse before and after glassing showed that I gained less extra weight than that stupid pilot weighed in the first place. So I then tented the canopy black and threw the little pilot to my German Shepard who decided the plastic was too hard to mess with and buried it . Good boy !!!
For the elev/rudder rods I decided to stay with the solid rod concept . The only problem here was that the supplied wooden rods both broke on me during assembly. Seems they had started drilling the little holes and realized they were measured too far back. Instead of starting with a fresh stick they opted to start a new hole and grooves from the ends. Not a good choice there Suzy.
I used a CF rod for the rudder and a alum arrow shaft for the elev. Going with two control rods on the elev for support.
On the wing I soaked the two LE dowls in thin CA and gave the holes they go in a few drops as well. After reading about the wing coming off and breaking the fuse in mid-air this was my first clue the front supports may be shipped weak. And they were btw.
Also cut out a wooden plate to add support for the wing-bolts. I noticed the nylon DuBro heads were already starting to cut through the thin wing mount area. My UCANDO needed the same treatment. (God bless the two-piece wing.) Wish they were all two piece.
I measured the distance from the firewall to the back of the prop nut with the .46AX mounted. 4 3/4" exactly. All I can say is that we must be getting differant ARFs with the updated factory changes made on some and not others. Several of the mistakes listed on this thread and other posts have been fixed on this shipment.
The wing and the horizontal tail piece are the two weight culprits here.
That sheeted wing is heavier than it needs to be IMO. And the metal rod they used for securing the two elev halves is way more rod than needed. A CF rod would have been perfect and decreased the tail weight alot.
The cast-alum motor mount would normally get a toss in the spare parts box. But in this case I may need the extra weight up front.
This will be a beater plane for me. But for some,, it may be a second or third ARF. I hope they see these posts and correct the flaws and mistakes before doing the maiden flight.
More to come.