If that "inner craftsman" in you is screaming for an outlet, how about a kit? A kit is simply a box of precut parts, sheets, and sticks that you glue together into an airplane. Kits allow you the most flexibility in that they don't include much, if any accessories outside the wood, and maybe some basic hardware.
Be warned: Kits require assembly, sometimes lots of it. If you're looking to be flying by this weekend, you might want to look at something else. There are many "extras" to buy that don't come with the kit, like wheels, covering, and many times even the pushrods and other assorted hardware. That said, building a kit can be a lot of fun and one of the most gratifying experiences in the hobby is seeing a plane that you built YOURSELF take flight for the first time.
One such kit is the Great Planes PT-Electric. The Great Planes PT, which stands for Perfect Trainer, series has been the trainer of choice for countless new pilots for decades now. It's an oldie, but a goodie.
This electric version of the PT is an earlier electric design, based on the R/C buggy motors and 6-cell car packs available at the time. Not the most efficient, or the best system for this plane, but adequate, especially if budget is a concern.
Here's what you'll need:
1. A large, flat building surface that you can insert pins into. You'll be pinning the parts down to hold them in place while you glue. A piece of drywall on a flat table, or an acoustic ceiling tile make good "pin boards."
2. Adhesives. An ounce each of thin and medium CA, and a tube 30-minute epoxy should be enough to build this plane. It's relatively simple to build and not very large.
3. An X-Acto knife and plenty of blades. Keeping the blade razor SHARP is essential, especially when cutting covering.
4. Sandpaper and sanding blocks.
5. Covering iron. I tried to cover my first plane with mom's clothes iron... Believe me, a $15 covering iron is a boon to the industry
Your first covering job won't be perfect, but don't worry about it.
6. Other assorted tools, hex key wrenches, screwdrivers, etc..
7. Tower Hobbies has a pretty complete list of accessories needed to complete this plane:
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...T=1&I=GPMA0110
8. Two rolls of covering. You could probably cover it with one, but you'll probably make mistakes and a one-color plane is BO-RING!
Two colors will also help you differentiate between top and bottom while the plane's flying.
9. Radio gear. See the top of this thread for info on choosing a transmitter. The onboard gear for this plane CAN be full-size, but lighter is better. An ounce here and there will make a heck of a difference. I like HS-81 servos and the Hitec Electron receiver for this plane, but any brand of "Micro" servo, and any "dual conversion" receiver will do fine. GWS "Pico" gear won't be adequate.
10. Battery and charger. Check my recommendations on chargers at the top of this thread. They recommend a 7-cell battery pack for this plane. Any 7-cell, Sub-C pack will do, even inexpensive car battery packs. You can get up to 3300mAh in this size pack depending on what cells you get, but the 1900mAh Great Planes pack will do just fine.
I'm sure I'm forgetting something, so let me know if I did.
Hopups:
This plane is just begging for hopups. Built as stock, the plane will fly for 6-7 minutes, will climb so-so, and won't be able to loop from level flight. Simply adding a 2:1 gearbox and a 10x7 prop to the system will improve things greatly. At that point you can upgrade to an 8-cell pack and gain even more power. If you're willing to bend longer legs for the landing gear, a 3:1 gearbox and 12x8 propeller is in order. Switch the stock motor out for a Kyosho Magnetic Mayhem, even better. Go to a 10-cell pack.... Yeeeeee-haaaaw!
You can get these gear ratios, or ones close to that, using the inexpensive Great Planes GD600 gearbox, and the optional pinions they sell for the gearbox. The plane will look a little odd if you just bolt the gearbox to the motor, so you might want to relocate the motor mount lower and further to the rear as you build, if you intend to put the gearbox on right off the bat.