[dpeterson3]

I would use something like a basic stamp and acceleratometers. One meter in each wing to sense large, sudden changes in acceleration that were not given by the controller. With the two axis ones from parallax, you could also stop the plane from stalling and dropping suddenly. Stamps and their parts are cheap, light, and easy to program. They use a port of basic. I have a BS2 that I am going to use in a submarine eventually.

No offense, but a mini FRC is a lot more expensive and heavier. They also require the MCC18 compiler or something similar, where as the stamp's programmer is free from Parallax.

Good luck