If you do find yourself having to go it alone, you owe it to yourself to check this site out thouroughly. S.P.A.D. Look under the "SPAD Originals" for the "Spadet". you can build that plane for less than 15 dollar using your existing engine and radio equipment (assuming .40 ish sized engine) and it will fly quite well if you're careful to keep warps out of the flying surfaces.
You can literally build this plane in one afternoon using solely the photo instructions on the website and it's all free. It's at least as crash-damage resistant as the Sturdy Birdy and has possibly a little better flying characteristics.
BTW, I've flown a Taylorcraft (in quarter scale) quite a bit. It's stable and a good flyer but generally considered something of an aerobatic plane in the clipped wing configuration. I certainly wouldn't consider it suitable for teaching yourself to fly.