RE: 50cc Extra 260 ARF
You will not be disappointed with this as your first. I wish I had started into gassers with this plane. It lands about as slow as a trainer. Li-Ion are not required, but if you use them, you will need regulators. As an aside, a buddy of mine that flys pattern told me he burned up a PCM receiver with a 6v nimh. As you know, they can be around 7volts when first charged. I now use regulators on everything!
I'm using 5985's all around except 5955tg on the rudder. The 5985's are basically identical to the 5945's
The build is fast, if you're looking for a winter project (it's summer there, right?), this isn't it. You could build in a weekend if you stay with it.