The Aerobird won't have you ready for a bipe or acrobatic glow plane. The speed things happen is much faster.

There are electrics that are comperable to glow powered planes, but they are in the same size and weight range as the glow planes, the Aerobird isn't one of them.

Bipes are a bit harder to fly than monoplanes, mostly because of the dramatically increased airframe drag. It's not uncommon for a new bipe pilot to stall and crash on landing.

Most of the .40 sized trainers fly well, and they are more or less the same. The Alpha and the LT-40 are two of the best, IMHO. There are many other very good ones. Just read some of the other threads here where guys talk about their successes and solo flights. The planes they mention are almost always good choices.

You can try bigger wheels on the aerobird, but the question is weither it can handle the weight.

Glow engines produce more power than gas in the same displacement, but gas is cheaper and makes less mess. It's rare to see gas below about a 1.4 (23cc) size. Partly because gas requires a spark system that adds weight.