From the ashes ....

A fellow club member lost the 2+ lb lead ballast mid flight. He said it became rather unstable and at about 10' it nosed in. Makin them fly again has always saved me money in building up my fleet. For $60 I thought it would be worth the effort. Sending $40 to Tower, I've got new windows and cowl. On a trip to O'Reily's with a scrap of covering in hand, found a perfect match in a "truck and van" paint. Years ago I swore off that so-called MonoKote match stuff.
I too was thinking of the 2300 as a replacement to his Saito 180. I'm using a 2300 on my Midwest 72" Giles which gives it decent power, but after lifting the Beech, I'll be going up to the 3250 or a CRRC gas to cut the lead req'd down to a few ounces. This thing must have flexed like a pretzel on impact since ALL the bulkheads were broken or separated from the fuse walls. Since I fly off grass, it was good to read here that the gear doors might not survive. Guess they'll be a static display feature only.
Hope the photos aren't too large since I'm learning a new digi camera and laptop. I think I missed the resizing step and can't seem to backtrack and correct.