My personal opinion and experience is that if you want a plane for flying sequences the 5S setup is the best way to go. That means not using the recommended motor and battery. From what I have gathered everyone who has a 5S setup likes what they got. I have a 6 lb all up plane and that is using 5S 5350ma packs and a separate 910ma Lipo and voltage regulator for the receiver. I fly 8-9 minute flights. The plane flys an effortless AMA Masters sequence. Prop is a 15X8 APC and if memory serves me , I was only drawing 60 amps. A little over 1000W. I've got 42 flights on it so far and really like it. It is the smallest plane I have ever flown that comes amazingly close in feel to a 2M ship. Except in high winds of course<g> The plane lands so nicely. No stressing of landing gear at this weight.

I am using the Extreme Flight Torque 4014T 570 electric motor that I had experience with on a 6lb - 5 oz Extreme Flight Extra 300. The Torque motor only needs about a 5/8" offset and uses the same mounting holes already on the firewall. I get a double bonus here since I can use the same packs I use in my 2M ship. Controller is the 85A Castle Creations controller. I'm using JR8311's on rudder and elevator and JR3421SA's on aileron. What the manufacturer recommends is not necessarily the best setup for everyone.

Just as an aside I just picked up two TRueRC 5000ma 5S packs at $110 a piece which is a lot cheaper than the packs I use for my 2M ship. It will be interesting to see how these packs hold up.

PS - There is no CG issue with the setup I am using.