Frogdude,

Wow, most people have very good experiences with the Firebird series of planes. I've seen a Firebird Commander get away to the point where it was little more than a dot in the sky, yet we were able to fly it back with my "eagle eye" to call out which way to go, the pilot on the throttle, and another instructor on the rudder. It must've been half a mile away

If you want a balsa bird, you can't beat Mountain Models's stuff. http://www.mountainmodels.com I think the Dandy Sport is what you should be looking at.