You would need a bigger ground for flying this thing.

Yeah, setup seems fine.
Where are you buying the parts from?

I have a pretty large space to fly, just not enough for something like the Skysurfer. Thanks for the help. The Red Brick is lighter than the Flightline ESC. I also prefer ordering from RCMumbai since I am anyway ordering a lot of heat shrink tubing from them (amazing prices on heat shrink). How much did your LiPo weigh? Did your plane fly? I chose the 900 mAh since 3S is recommended for this motor and this is closest to the weight recommended by Flite Test.
I am going to buy the ESC and misc. heat shrink from RCMumbai.
I got 2mm bullet connectors and 30 mm heat shrink (for ESC customisation) from Indian.Hobby.Shop on Ebay
The servos, props, LiPo and a servo tester from RCBazaar.
Linkage stoppers, prop savers and maybe an X-Acto foam board cutter from Vibrant Hobbies.
Depron from RCIndia user foamybuilder (have to go pick some up from him)
Finally, I am planning to get the motor either from Vibrant Hobbies or a user on this forum.
I plan to use a piece of copper clad board (after etching away the copper) for the firewall. I will get the push rods from a cycle store as advised.

Just one suggestion.
Rather than the HexTronik 24g motor, I would suggest buying an Emax CF2822 motor.
It is a MUCH more versatile motor. You'll be able to use this motor on bigger builds as well (If you plan to build something else in the future). It's always best to look at future options as well. Getting a versatile motor will mean that you won't have to buy a new motor for every plane you plan to build.
The cf2822 will only be about 10-15g heavier than the HexTronic one. It's cheaper, and with the 8x3.8 prop, it will give you about the same power (maybe slightly more) as the Hextronic one.
Not to mention, it's available with RcMumbai, VibrantHobbies and RcDhamaka

This motor is cheap and can provide a lot of thrust. I was just concerned about the weight and also whether it will fit in the Swappable Power Pod. Plus, since it is my first build, I was picky about following the directions. If you think it will work with the setup I described, I will definitely go for this motor.

I don't think 15g extra would matter much. And yeah, there's no problem in it fitting the power pod. I've used 28mm motors with the FT powerpod without any problem

Thanks. So I am now going to go with the EMAX CF2822. I already have an Avionic RCB6i Tx. I also wanted to ask if I can use 2mm bullet connectors for my motor to ESC connections since they can handle upto 20 Amps and this motor draws up to 17 amps.

2mm is fine, to be used with this motor.

So I have ordered the EMAX CF2822 1200 kv motor with a Red Brick 20 Amp ESC. Is this power setup OK? I had ordered 8x3.8 props but I saw on this website http://www.headsuphobby.com/Emax-CF2822-1300kv-Outrunner-Brushless-Motor-E-510.htm that with this prop, it generates 25 oz (710 grams) thrust. This seems way too much for this plane so should I pick up a smaller prop like a 7x3 or 7x4  (420 grams thrust)? Otherwise, should I build the plane and check the weight before getting another prop. I read that a thrust:weight ratio of 1:1 is recommended for a trainer type plane.

710g with an 8x3.8 seems too much.
http://www.ecalc.ch/motorcalc.php?ecalc&lang=en

This site says it'll be 550g with the 8x3.8.
You don't need 1:1 ratio on a trainer. Even 0.75 would fly perfect.
Get a 7x4 in case you're still doubtful.

Hey sk,
Good choice,
Best luck.

Thanks for checking sir. I don't see this motor on eCalc, can you please include a screenshot.

Since ecalc is a demo version, they give only a subset of their motors at a time. Refresh the page and try to see if the motor you are looking for shows up. Keep refreshing till you find the motor. I refresh about 10 times before concluding that the motor is not there in their database.

P.S. Online calculators are purely theoretical and can only give you a very rough estimate. Actual observed values may vary.

Oh yes! After refreshing a couple of times I found the same motor on eCalc. I won't close this page anytime soon 

Best of luck for your build 
Do post a build log if possible. It will allow people to guide you through problems you may face during the build and will help other newcomers in the future.