True, it did start out as just a 'fiddling around' project. However, I feel that the plane actually has become very nimble (see the landscape of AirRace; even ridiculous tightly packed sky-islands can be navigated by the plane with ease) and would fit well alongside the blimp as I described above. While of course we'd have to come to a decision as a team if we want this in-game, I see no reason developing the plane into a direction that degenerates the way it could fit into the game.

I apologize if my first post sounded like I assumed it was already definitive canon content; I was coming from a perspective of "How could this fit in the finished product, and what will need to be changed to allow it to fit?"