Just cap them off (add some wood and shape it). Plane flys better in crosswind without extra counter balance height. A previous post on the Temptation shows pictures of them without the counter balance. Do as Lee says and you will have a great flying plane. My two planes also use Focus canopies instead of the stock one. Brings canopy further forward and makes rolling the plane even easier than it already is. With Webra 160's/ES 160 pipe my two come in at a nice 10lb-1oz and 10lb-2oz, respectively. A tribute to Dave Guerins building consistency. All the little tweaks mentioned make a great flying plane even better. I believe I don't have the hinge angle tweak on mine. I just needed a little up elevator mixed in for knife edge flight. At the weights mentioned, I don't use much full throttle and consequently can go throught the Masters sequence twice with a little to spare with a 16 oz tank. Prop of choice APC 17X13 and Powermaster 15/16 for fuel.