I agree. Best $150 plane. OS 50SX in mine and not lacking in power... I recently put some lead on the tail of mine, too. No coupling in knife edge, it's great. 4-pt rolls are very nice. Haven't had problems with the rudder pushrod but your idea moving it to the tail and getting rid of the lead sounds good.

If I ever lose this one (knock on wood), I'll get another. GP did a nice job with this one.