As far as electrifying the wires it has obviously been done but the wires have to be insulated to prevent shorting and either relatively short or large in diameter to keep the power loss to a minimum and still have enough to fly the model, lotsa drag or you spin around real quick . So far the use of LiPo batteries, speed controls and electronic timers have been successfull to the point where electric power has been used at the FAI world championships and done rather well. The big killer for small models seems to be battery weight but experiments have been done and a good useable power system for 1/2a size may not be far away. Brodak already has an electric ARF that fly's well and recently a ARF Flight Streak has been converted and flown with rumors that other manufacturers are either bringing to market or seriosly considering bringing out more electric C/L planes. It can only get better for us a prices will drop a bit and there will be more choices and data available for us to use to put together a successfull model.