RE: Superstar EP power upgrade
I might suggest that you go with the Hobbico EP Superstar ARF. My Son-In-Law soloed on it in about 4 flights and he had never flown before. He did spend about 4 hours on the G2 Flight Simulator between flying days. A good investment for under $100.
It comes pretty much complete and in about 3-4 hours is ready to go fly. To fly off grass we put 3 inch wheels on it. It does hand launches easily and flies very stable.
It flies for about 6-8 minutes with the Nicads and Motor that come with it.
On mine the first thing I did was replace the Nicads with 2S-2P 1500 MAH batteries, and a 30 Amp Li-Po Speed control. Still using the Can Motor that came with it. Flight times then went up into the 12-15 minute range and weight went down drastically. This allowed it to thermal, and most of the flights were at about half throttle or less. Cost about $150 - Plus a Li-Po Charger which I already had.
Next to improve the performance, I put a Brushless Motor on it . I had a Multiplex Permax BL-480/6D with a Castle Creations 25 Amp Speed Control on it for a few months and it flew with authority and was a bit more aerobatic, for Rudder and Elevators only. Still using the same Li-Po batteries. Cost about $125
I have since added ailerons, Reduced the Dihedral by about 3/4, added a much stronger Brushless motor, 2000 MAH Li-Poly pack and and Wheel Pants. Now it flies like any advanced Glow Trainer I ever flew. Flight times are in the range of 12-15 minutes. It does aerobatics, and about the only things it won't do are climb Vertically, and fly inverted for any length of time. Cost about another $100 and 4-6 hours of modification to the wing.
So as you advance the plane is capable of advancing as well.
Click for fullsize