Aido...I asked here because many of the F16 designs revolve around this particular mast section, It did not seem unreasonable to assume that someone had developed a carbon lay-up to mimic it's bend characteristics, and that laminate schedule was common knowledge...obviously its not...at least to those participating here...the only foolish question is the one not asked.

Yes, shorting it will have an affect....mainly one of stiffness, but if you start out with a known quantity you are way ahead of the game....It is much easier to modify the section dimensions and/or fiber orientation than to start from scratch with a total unknown.