Blackrider,

You can definitely set up the UCD for easy flying, but Plane_Freak does have a point.

Since you were just flying a NextStar, I'll have to assume you are a typical relatively new flier.

-The controls on the UCD are large so if you over do the movements, even a little, you can get yourself into trouble without the skill to recover in time.
-The UCD is designed for performance and is lightly built. It will land very slowly, probably slower than your trainer, if you have the skill to hold the plane off that long, but it will not take hard landings. The manufacturer assumes a skillful, fairly expert pilot. One hard landing can easily knock the gear out.
-It has an inverted engine. If you had any trouble starting and running your trainer engine, this will be multiplied by several factors as you try to run, and get the idle correct, on an inverted engine.
-Due to its large controls, it can not fly fast without a great chance of flutter which will destroy the plane. Every time you put the nose down, you need to throttle back. An expert pilot can get a feel for what speed a plane will take, but a newer pilot won't be able to do this. This plane was meant for 3D, hovering, etc. It was not designed for chasing your buddies around or for touch and goes.
-It is also a large plane and prone to hangar rash.

I would recommend you try a plane that has a wider speed range, low passes are fun and so are touch and goes. The Tiger 2, already mentioned, or the Tiger 60 is a good one. There is also and of the Sticks. An Ultra Stick 60 with any of the engines you mentioned would be excellent and it will do nearly everything. Others are the 4-Stars, 40 & 60, Big Sticks, Sportsters and several others.

If you insist on a plane that will do 3D, the Hangar 9 Twist for a .46 or .72 4-stroke, has a much wider speed range, at least compared to the UCDs.