thanks all for your input we had talked about the fan/voltage idea but the problem in that case is drag. for prototyping we are using an RC plane but the final design and circuit are going to be integrated in something like this
our sensor net work uses the following
basic stamp
2 accelerometers 90 deg from each other
a digital compass
custom servo drivers and receiver
and sonar for takeoff and landing.
the plane that we are using right right now is about 2 ft long