I agree with buying the most radio you can afford (it shouldn't limit other parts of your budget though) but I think that balsa would be easier to repair. You can buy all the stock balsa you'd ever want at your LHS. If you don't tear (EPP) or crack (EPS) the foam and just tear tape or other covering - then foam planes are very easy to repair. EPP can be rejoined using Formula 77 or some other similar lightweight foam-safe glue. EPS is very fragile and usually has to be repaired with aliphatic resin (wood glue) or epoxy as it doesn't hold up to modern F77 or CA. EPS also has a tendancy to explode on impact if not restrained by something like tape. As for wings - a good covering scheme goes a long way for figuring out orientation but nothing is fool proof. I can't count the number of times I've forgotten where I am in a roll and dove into the ground. The only wings that I've ever flown are a Zagi 400X and the Unicorn. I had to fly the Zagi near full throttle during the entire flight and the experience could be called anything but relaxed. If you built this plane (or any really) as light as possible, you'd probably have a better experience. My dad bought a Unicorn (after reading the forums) after I got my Zagi to learn how to fly. I did his test flight and trimmed it for him. I was so shocked at the difference in handling (Unicorn was better) that I stripped all the tape off of my Zagi so that I could re-tape it, saving as much weight as possible. Almost but not quite. The Unicorn is capable of fast flight and slow flight and many different acrobatic maneuvers. I can fly this plane between 1/4 and 1/2 throttle even with all the strengthing procedures. The wingo mentioned earlier would be a good bet if it indeed has slow flight characteristics. Time runs out fast when you're trying to work out the plane's orientation. The best reason that I can think of for not getting a flying wing is that they pretty much go where you point them. If you let go of the controls in a steep bank or dive - the plane will not level out until it encounters the ground.

Good luck and be safe,
Danno