Rajul, the exhaust tip is barely poking past the bottom of the fuse, so yes, an exhaust deflector is definitely in order. The bottom of the fuse and stab will still get gunked up a bit, even with the deflector, but at least that's all. Plus, I've found through experience that folks holding my planes (including myself) much prefer a bottom exhaust outlet.

Raptor, that's not good news about the anodizing. Oh well. At least I'll get to admire the purple head for 20 flights. I never liked the bolt-on style muffler either - the inside bolt is a pain to get to - but the deal on the engine was too good to pass up.