With modern brushless motors and lipos, there is no power disadvantage with going electric. Electric power in 2M (6+ foot wing span) pattern ships has been around for several years and is becoming more common. These electric ships have power/weight ratios that are comparable to what a YS160DZ puts out (supercharged 1.60 cu.in. port injection.) The also have flight times that equal nitro setup. I've even heard of an electric 40% IMAC type ship (~12 ft wing span) that was fully 3D capable, normally you'd use a 150cc twin gas engine on that class of ship. So performance isn't an issue.

There are however many poorly performing electric setups. Often these are RTF "toys" that are terribly underpowered. But this isn't the fault of the electric, it is the designer/manufacture fault for putting that crappy setup on that plane.

As for general flight performance, that is plane dependent. A Cub will fly like Cub, etc. Electric, glow, doesn't matter.

The kicker with electric is the cost. I recently compared running a 1.60 cu. in. glow vs a comparable electric. The electric motor/speed controller ran about the same as the glow setup, so that’s about a wash. It is the LiPo batteries that are pricey. It is difficult to find any comprehensive testing, but most figures I've seen show between 100 to 400 flights per pack before the pack is wore out. At 400 flights, the cost of the pack vs a comparable quantity of glow fuel (enough for 400 flights) is about a wash, or maybe slightly in the electric favor. The break even was around 350 flights, and I'm unsure the pack could last that long. Now factor in three packs so I can fly three times an hour, chargers, etc. and the price is several thousand vs $700 for a years supply of glow fuel. And lots could make this even worse. LiPo packs are not terribly durable and rough handling (or a crash) could easily destroy the pack… it would be like burning dozens of gallons of glow fuel because of a "crash" or bad charge.

The plus side is all the vibration that comes with glow would go away with electric. 90% of the repairs I have to make on my 2M ship are engine/exhaust/vibration related. So there is a value there I'm willing to pay for, but I'm not sure I'm ready to risk the possible costs.

Hobby LiPO use is insignificant to the market. But consumer markets like laptops, PDAs, cell phones, etc. are huge and will keep pushing LiPo costs down. I expect that in the years to come large electrics will be as common as glow/gas, but the pack cost must come down.

Cheers.