Phil,

In the 10+ years that this (Ziroli) design has been around, I have never heard of this problem. I have seen countless numbers of Nicks 38s fly with never a design glitch. I HIGHLY doubt that the problem you encountered was due to design, but rather in building. It is quite possible(not that he did) that the builder "screwed" the pooch on this one. It could have been anything from improper sheeting technique to elevator\rudder flutter that caused the vibration that cracked the booms on the 38. Isn't it possible that in the panic of loosing a hatch(which can be builder error ) that it caused flutter within the airframe, or that there was no flutter at all but rather a boom strike on a perceived emergency landing?
I respect your piloting skills and certainly your building abilities as I have followed your build on the Sky Raider, but don't you think there might be more here that meets the eye before you go blaming Nick?

-Dave