Help choosing an RC plane for launching micro gliders

Hello everyone,

I am a student in Univ of California, Berkeley and we are making tiny (approx 2gm) gliders (called "micro-gliders") with a wing span of about

12cm and a length of about 10cm.

We are at the stage when we want to launch these micro gliders from a height of about 100-200 feet. One of the ideas to launch the micro gliders from this height was to drop them from bigger RC airplanes. As part of the project, we have built a 20gm gripper (swinging at the end of a cataput) which we presently use to launch the gliders. The idea is that we can attach one (or more) of these grippers to the underside of a large RC airplane holding the 2gm glider and when the RC airplane reaches the desired altitude/orientation, we release the 2gm glider. By far the coolest thing would be the ability to put 4 of these grippers with 4 microgliders and launch them simultaneously (which comes to a total weight of about 100gm).

I am very new to RC airplanes and wanted a few opinions on what would be a good plane to get for something like this. Here are a few specs on what would be desirable:

The RC airplane would ideally be capable of flying somewhat slow (12-18 mph or 5-7m/s). Thse seem to be called "slow flyers" or "park flyers" because the micro gliders fly at about this speed.

It should be capable of supporting a weight of about 100 gm for the four grippers. I guess it should also be somewhat immune to the aerodynamic loading of these gliders.
It should be possible to trigger the gripper remotely via the transmitter. So I guess the plane should be capable of working with a generic transmitter.

I took a look at the following somewhat promising candidates, but would really appreciate feedback from people who are more experienced with RC planes.

GWS Pico Stick ARF
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GWS Pico J3 ARF
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Great Planes ElectriFly Yard Stik Park Flyer ARF 41''
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Hobbyzone Firebird commander
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Hobbyzone Firebird IIST
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(The problem with Hobbyzone rc planes seems to be that they cannot be used with standard radios which might cause problems triggering our grippers from the ground. The advantage seems to be that they are ready to fly and also look pretty cool compared to 1 and 2).

Thanks a lot for reading through! :)) I would really appreciate any help/advice.

Thanks! Srinath

| 1. The RC airplane would ideally be capable of flying somewhat slow | (12-18 mph or 5-7m/s). Thse seem to be called "slow flyers" or "park | flyers" because the micro gliders fly at about this speed.

... | 3. Great Planes ElectriFly Yard Stik Park Flyer ARF 41'' |

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Bigger is likely to be better in this case, so the Yard Stick (or it's more popular brother the GWS Slow Stick) is likely to be ideal.

Either plane would handle 4 ounces of weight with little problem as long as the center of gravity is not messed up. As far as the aerodynamics go, it should be OK as well though I'd make the plane have as much power as is practical -- LiPo batteries and a brushless motor would help if you have the money to spend on it. Though the stock motor and suggested battery may work -- I just don't know how draggy your gliders will be.

| (The problem with Hobbyzone rc planes seems to be that they cannot be | used with standard radios which might cause problems triggering our | grippers from the ground. The advantage seems to be that they are ready | to fly and also look pretty cool compared to 1 and 2).

If you care about how this all looks, you're in the wrong field :)

And you're right about the radio.