Medic... I don't think we are all that far apart in opinion. Flying in low and slow really has nothing to do with crash damage, a crash is a crash. I was more concerned with being able to see the airplane easily. A Firebird at 100 ft certainly fits in this catagorey. It is another good choice.
Having a saiplane at 1000 ft or more from where you are standing could easily turn into a fly away for a beginner if they lost orientation of the "speck" in the sky. I think that a small powered airplane like the ones listed in this thread are a better choice than a sailplane, usually.