AirWizard, thank you very much.

SilverSurfer, I respect your right not to help me, but I would imagine that silence on your part would be the best way to deny me your assistance. In that light, as well as under the auspices of common courtesy, your most recent post seems rather rude. At no time had I considered that I would need to prove myself worthy in order to solicit assistance from this forum (after all, if people were unwilling to help, one would assume they wouldn't be on the forum at all). I will, however, indulge you such that your assumptions are proven false and perhaps other members may yet salvage my project.

Contrary to your accusations, I have already chosen my aircraft, and constructed (most) of it. I've designed and built it from scratch with wood, foam, fabric, 3D vortex panel codes, and my masters degree in Aeronautical Engineering. I have absolutely no regard for "back of the evelope" parameters like "authority", which is the impetus for creating this list. Making this list comprehensive is not an investment of time I'm interested in undertaking, and your assertion that I've omitted "better" engines without offering a metric for comparison is exactly the kind of valueless gossip that I'm looking to avoid.

As to the wide range of displacements I'm considering, you should not be so suprised. It is not my intention to do 3D sport aerobatics. Surely you haven't forgotten how all of the prevalent rules of thumb in this hobby produce aircraft that are stunningly overpowered by GA standards: you don't see 800HP Cessnas, now do you?

I can see this was a bad idea (in practice, not principle).