ORIGINAL: tigerdude426
1)Whats easier to learn on?
This is not a question of power source. All depends on what sort of an airframe you have. However, a big plane tolerates wind better and big electrics are still expensive.
2)Which is more forgiving with hard landings?
Not primarily a question of power source. I have done a few scary looking arrivals with my GWS foamies (disorientation or too much wind for my skill level) without significant damage. I broke the nose off my GWS Formosa "Pattern style" parkflyer, in a nosedive to a frozen lake. It was easy to fix.
3)What gives more flying time per flight?
My GWS E-Starter with a $40 (??) LiPo gives me two or three flights that last long enough for me to feel I am losing focus.
4)Which flys slower? Has easier/softer landings?
Not primarily a question of power source. Most glow planes that I see at the field "LOOK" faster and cover more sky than the electrics that I see. I have also seen electrics that approach 200 mph.
I know that obviously glow is better for maneuvers, but can electrics accomplish simple maneuvers besides just flying?
Many pilots at F3A aerobatics Wold Championships are nowadays using electric motors in their competition ships. Those big power systems are scary expensive. But I have a feeling that the cost of electric flying is going down. My GWS Formosa, with a $100 (?) power system does big loops and neat rolls. My skill is the limit.
Edit:
I said before that I will also build one or more glow planes. It is not because I need more power: I could get all the power I need for ANY aerobatics, using electric. In a spell of madness and too much money, I bought a very nice engine long before I built my first plane. I want to put that engine to use. I also think that using a glow engine feels different from using electric power. I do not mean different performance, I mean something psychological.
I think some of the world's best aerobatics guys do not use electrics by chance. I am sure they think that electrics have a performance advantage at what they are doing. Why else would they spend all that money it costs nowadays. (Pretty irrelevant for a beginner but I had to say it.)