Chris,

I'm the guy that "underdw" built the Element for and I highly recommend the "el-cheapo" approach with the OS 160 2-stroke. I too was returning to pattern after a significant lay-off. I've been flying the 170 for about a year in Advanced and it is a very capable aircraft and a lot of bang for your buck. I considered building it electric as I too thought I'd only fly at local contests where they would not check weight. However, I wanted to make the 5 kg weight limit out of the gate and now, "underdw" and I are thinking about going to the NATs in 2011, who knew?

I'm a little old school and was predisposed to go glow and in this case, I'm glad I did. At the end of the day, you want this plane to be as light as possible and I think glow is the way to do that. Also, you never have to wait for little batteries to charge if you want to go fly (I still love that). If you use the OS 160, you can go with 15% Cool Power and have all the vertical performance you'll ever need. I have unlimited vertical and I live in Denver where glow engines are derated for elevation (5400 ft as "underdw" mentioned).

There are a few issues to overcome and I can clue you in on that. Most of it is discussed in the RCU build thread. For instance, throw away your stock gear and buy the Graph-Tech F3A Pattern. There's also issues with tank location, etc.

You will find the build-thread at the following link. It goes over all the issues with electric/glow, weight, etc.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_7967001/tm.htm

Good luck and don't hesitate to contact me if you need some help.

Best, Zoli