There are some electric starters that have been manufactured for a few of the "mid - size" gasoline engines. But I don't think I've seen anything for the size engine you're going ro need.

Your group might be able to use a decent electric motor and develop one yourselves though. All you need is a flywheel behind the prop.

You do realize that you're probably approaching $700 to $800 minimum for an engine to pull that weight right?

As for wing deployment; I've read posts where guys have developed small (60" wingspan) jets with scale swept wings. Using a pivot point and strong enough servos should allow for it, but setting up the geometry would be a bear. The problem will probably be in the limited travel of the servos.

Sounds intriguing though. You might try posting the wing deployment question in the jets forum.