We were talking at the Field yesterday about ways to strenghten the FuntanaS Horz Stab, and a friend of mine suggested to sheet the stab with balsa planking, not the elevators, just the stab. I will try this idea on mine. Has anybody tried this yet ?
Funtana owners in my area have had bad experiences with stabs falling appart in flight, we guess it`s the struts that give up or come off and this has caused a couple of total loses.

What does the structure really look like? There might a less severe fix than sheeting.
Are the struts glued or screwed to the surface?
The load is mostly down, so that's the direction that needs the most help.
I've added struts on the bottom to a couple of planes which showed they needed it... One by losing half the horizontal in flight!
Kevlar™ thread been tried?
Put a support about 3/4ths the way out on each side, drill and pass the thread thru, with it attached to similar fittings in the vertical and lower fuselage.

Tall Paul, Thanks for the input, I know that will work, but as an avid builder ( have built over 100 kits ), always end up making an ARF a kit almost. I already started making a new stab ( not the elev`s ). I got a new Funt.S and a roll of white Ultrakote the same day, I knew I was eager for plastic surgery on it. The work is not that hard when the stab is still off the fuse`. I can see the factory stab is way too weak, and I beat my planes to death. I will post my findings, including stab weights, later on. For now I just wonder if anybody has done something similar and if it has worked.

keep it light! a little weight adds up with a long tail like the funtana's! very easy to come out tailheavy. Might I suggest keeping the servo's out of the tail? May help balance from the weight of the extra wood.

sean