Here are a few videos of the A-10 with a stock brushless motor & LiPo packs as suggested.

Note the takeoff distance...

My brushed version flies the same way with LiPo's.

The brushless versions have greater thrust and take off in about 3/4 the distance required by the brushed versions, but the brushed plane performance is never-the-less pretty good.


[link=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMl-4eW7lcc&feature=youtube_gdata]Brushed Plane - One - Click me![/link]

[link=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeUNFb04C4w&feature=youtube_gdata]Brushed Plane - Two - Click me![/link]

The caveat with the brushed motors, is that you'll probably need to replace them after a few seasons once the brushes wear down. However brushed motors are inexpensive to replace.