Piedmont Temptation construction questions

[Derek Lieber]

Hi,
I have a question for you more experienced pattern builders.

My Temptation plans do not indicate what kind of reinforcement,
if any, should be built into the rear of the fuselage.

1. Is the fuse strong enough to be used as is, with no reinforcement?

2. Or, should I be putting a horizontal plate/ladder to stiffen
the sidewalls?

3. If #2, then can I safely remove the "X" cross brace at the rear of the
hatch, since it pretty much blocks access to the rear of the fuse?

I had a bad experience with a previous composite fuse whose
manufacturer claimed "no reinforcement needed". The fuse broke
about 6" aft of the wing after just a few flights (no snaps
or rough handling), so I'm leery of repeating the same construction
practice without hearing from others first.

One other question:

4. Is the little tail former shown on the plans and paper template really 
needed? In addition to looking hard to install, it looks like it might
block the pushrod and pull pull cables.

Thanks for any info or additional tips.
Regards,

--Derek

PS. The supplied paper firewall template for this plane was
about 30% too small. Not even close to the right size.
Not a problem, just amusing.
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