you can find plans everywhere. you can download them, find them in magazines, just about everywhere. there is not a whole lot of reading material you will find other than tips and tricks to make your scratch building go smoother. for starters, how much do you know about cutting and shaping balsa, how much do you know about the glues commonly used in our sport, how and where to use them? how much do you know about covering?

as far as the electrics go, if you can give me (or just about any other pilot who has electric experiance) a weight projection, what type of plane it is and how much power you want and a budget, i am sure something can be worked out to fit your needs exactly. just know that it is not uncommon in this sport at all to overshoot your budget "limit". you will also find your budget limit will become elastic, becuase there is always a great item out there that you will want.