For the airplane body, I want to select early on a fuselage design to adapt to the project. The requirements are malleable right now, but I do want some payload capability and easy handling characteristics.

carrying capacity depends on the wing loading and thrust , and interferes with the center of gravity, so a design with a large(r) wing surface is necessary. thrust depends on the motor which feeds from the batteries which requires further analysis to find the optimal setup (diminishing returns and all that).

With all that in mind, I've selected the STS seaplane (minus the seaplane) from user WaterDog at

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=372857

as a primary choice. it is a simple design, doesn't require fussing too much and the plans are comprehensible. plus since the wings are a simple shape, they can be extended to support heavier craft and moved forwards and backwards to adjust the center of lift. I also like the way it looks.

As for the motors and ESC, I'm looking into CD-rom motors

http://hackaday.com/2009/11/17/rc-airplane-motors-from-computer-trash/

I do appreciate any input

"The bluebird carries the sky on its back"

-Henry David Thoreau