Do the whole bag of tricks -- it's worth it as an exercise & the plane will fly beautifully.

Remove the dihedral -- it WILL have an effect. Also drop the wings into the fuselage by ~ 3/4 " -- this will move the center of lift closer to the thrust line.

Convert to a taildragger -- less weight & drag, plus you will learn how to fly a taildragger

Convert to bolt-on wings -- less drag & good construction practice.

Remove 1/2 down thrust & all right thrust -- you won't need it & it costs performance.

Add POWER

Have fun -- this is a really worthwhile exercise & the plane will be a delight to fly, plus YOU did it, not the ARF man.