Taking the LIPO plunge, would appreciate some opinions.

[Serum]

Neil; that charger you mentioned is only 50W, that's up to no good IMO..

For lipo's i would check out Dan's (truerc.com) he has got a good pack for an awesome price. Shipping is fair to (~17.5 usd for 12 4000mAh cells IIRC)

if you use his packs in 4S2P with the novak 6.5 you have got serious runtime. (and a fair light weight too)