Paul,

I originally had my G26 in an Ultra Stick Light. It weighed about 10.5 lbs initially with a lightened (but not converted) G26. The plane was fun in terms of slow landings with the flaps and general aerobatics. I tried some of Desertpig's modifications, which cut the weight some, but it still was not a good 3D plane (of course the G26 makes no where near 17 lbs at 5000 ft altitude).

There are lighter (and more expensive) small gas engines like the 3W24 or Evo26, but IMHO you need to go bigger to get a good power to weight ratio with gas. Really Nogyro is right. For example, the DA 50 weighs less than 3 pounds bare, and will turn a 23" prop.

One other comment - I don't know how much you have flown in a year, but most of the scale aerobats you mention like Extras, Edge, Cap, Giles, etc. can tend to snap with high rates and require some finesse to land well, especially if they are set up tail heavy Cg for 3D flying. There are a lot of fun-fly type planes that will do some 3D and are easier to handle - Banshee G3D, Magic, Funtana 90, various profile planes, etc.

Greg