Gary,

You may want to try something initially that will give you a confidence boost and some experience in electric flight. The stock Pigi 3D from [link=http://www.hobby-lobby.com/pigi.htm]Hobby Lobby[/link] is an example of a 1.5lb EPP foam design that is cost effective and guaranteed to please.

The Pigi 3D is also easy to modify. The biggest power upgrade is to replace the stock NiMH pack with two 3-cell Kokam 1500HC packs plugged in parallel. You get longer flights with a lighter plane.

Other mods. like new control horn holes closer to the surface will increase your throw range (especially on aileron). Somtimes, replacing the HS-55 aileron servos with HS-85 increase the speed also.

Bigger e-conversions are the next wave in e-flight. You'll see magazines and vendors focusing more on this aspect very soon. For many of us, we have been doing this for years but every show I attend I see people that had no idea.

As prices drop on the larger electric power systems, an electric conversion from .25 to .90 size will become commonplace.