I smiled when you said Prairie Bird. That was my first R/C plane. I crammed a .20 gas engine in it and flew it till the balsa was spongy. I still have the plane, although I dont think it will fly. Needs a new Non-fuel soaked fuselage.

I used to fly that thing out of a baseball field at my highschool with light poles, trees, chainlink fences, and powerlines everywhere. I remember I took off from the pitchers mound heading outfield. Pulled it up over a chainlink fence, but under the powerline, slow right turn around the powerpole, under the powerline, and then rapidly gained altitude to pass over the backstop and trees. I flew around for a while at high altitude, and landings were just as before in reverse. All that with a plane with NO ailerons. Just rudder and elevator. How I managed to miss all the obstructions, Ill never know. I went back to that field a few years ago, and I must have been NUTS to fly there. It made me realize just how much my reflexes have changed with age. I dont think I would try it with a parkflyer, much less a gas powered plane.

My recommendation for you would be to get a cheap parkflyer, like a piper cub or something and do your school project out on the football field. You can get a kit with everything in it for about $140-160 at www.parkzone.com
It would save you a lot of time and money, and you would get the skills you need to fly something more dynamic.