Nothing that you've said seems out of line to me except I might recommend that you find a club and maybe see if they have a trainer that you can use to learn to fly...it'll save you some bucks and some initial risk while you learn. The club I belong to has a number of trainers available for newbie's to learn on. I'd also look into getting a Super Sportster, 4 * 60, or Tiger 2 for 1st low wing aircraft before you move on to the biplane....going from a trainer to a biplane would be a huge jump in my opinion.

Of course, I'm a go for it all type of person so I bought an ARF trainer along with my P51 kit to build over the next year. That was almost a year ago. Now I have a Super Sportster (my second plane), EDGE 540 (my 3rd plane), Fokker DVII (my 4th plane), a TF P51 (should fly in 2-3 months from now) on one work bench, and a GP Super Skybolt on my new bench at my Dad's hous just begging to be built.

As far as the engine goes, I'd think a 2 stoke 91 sized engine will probably be enough engine but a bi-plane just begs...screams out for a 4 stroke engine!!!!

Finally, save yourself some heartache and purchase a simulator to save yourself some heartache and shop time if you haven't already. If you're a computer geek your computer will be able to handle the program.

Happy flying.