Noob here as well...
Maybe begin with some sort of toy RC balloon and use it as a start point? perhaps something like this:
That would cover a lot of your vehicle hardware needs. Hack that sucker down to motors and props and throw the rest in your junk box 
I'd do my prototyping with the UNO but you'll probably need to shed a lot of weight for flight trials. Maybe a Nano? Maybe something even more stripped?