I don't think I've built a plane yet that wasn't modified in some fashion.
I read the instructions once or twice before starting construction. I also read ahead a few steps while building.
I've built so many that I rarely follow the instruction book to the letter. I sand a bit here--replace some wood over there--install a hardpoint over here and replace blocks with formers and sticks on this or that piece. I'll sheet the turtledeck on this plane and unstall stringers on that one.
I can't just pull it out of the box and build it according to the plan or instructions. Thats boring. I only have a 73" truck bed, so you'll see me with a lot of 2-piece wings that weren't originally designed that way. It's no big deal to put a tube in a wing and add a couple nylon bolts to a wing for attachment. I've moved the stab up and down or forward and backwards on some aerobatic planes to see what effect it had.
I have a Midwest 80" Cap 232 NIB that I plan to build some day. I've already built the 73" Midwest Giles and the 80" Midwest Extra 300S, so I know all about those plywood fuselages and how heavy they can be. On the Cap, I plan to only use the sides of the fuse to keep my stabs and wing saddle lined up. The top and bottom of the fuse and all the ply formers behind the wing saddle are going to be made from balsa sticks and formers. That will lighten the kit significantly. Especially in the tail section where Caps are notorious for being tail heavy. It's going to be a bit of work, and I'll have to lay it out on a set of paper and basically re-draw the fuse before I start on construction. But, the benefit of loosing all that weight is going to make the plane fly a lot better.
Modifying kits is the whole reason why I like to build. It's fun to personalize the kits to make them my own creation. It's fun to play with the stab location or the wing tube on a plane to make it fly different. Some planes will build out tail heavy--they just do. I've had kits before and KNEW it was a tailheavy design before I started building. I took the wing tube and moved it back 1.5" on the fuse to put a bit more moment out in front of the CG. Moved the horizontal stab forward 1" to get a bigger rudder control surface in between the elevators. [8D]
I just can't help myself.
