RE: 2nd Plane Blues:(
Tiger 2 is great choice and a tri cycle gear is the ticket on a second plane in my opinion. Also I might add that you should be more than "fairly confident" before you move on to a higher performance plane.
There is another alternitive to your battery delima. I put 6 volt in just about every thing I fly. I also opt for hi cap NIMH.
Have fun and fly well.
Dave