You bet! There is no doubt that you need to give the same care when you assemble an ARF that you would when building from scratch. I can't think of any kit I have built that I didn't put some personal touches on that strayed from the plans! You really can't be TOO safe!!

I do that same thing on any ARF I buy. Look it over REAL good and beef it up where I see fit. I believe that most people do that. I always thought that was part of the "ALMOST" in ARF!

There is no excuse for the bad job Hangar 9 did on those older ARFs. They are much better today. I wring the heck out of their 27% Extra 260. It's built really light too. However the more I look at it the more I understand the design. When I build, I tend to overbuild! A lot of guys I talk to say that's not necessary as long as you build it right and light. You also need to fly the plane the way it was designed. The 27% Extra is a good example of that. It did't stop me from reinforcing the landing gear and firewall though!

Getting used to flying a plane like that within its envelope made me a better pilot I think!

Good Luck with that Chipmunk!