Hi tuckercharles,
I have an electric hand plane but have only used it to do some rough stock removal. Because of the rotary motion of the cutting head the surface texture of the worked wood will never come close to that of a properly tuned smoothing plane. As for use in difficult grain woods, an electric plane is at an extreme disadvantage. Like most electric tools, an electric planer is best used to reduce labor in situations where there is a lot of tiring work to be done, not where accuracy and fine finish are the major concern. One of the more interesting uses I have seen of an electric plane is to use it, with curved edge blades and cross grain, to mimic adze and broad axe textures on beams and logs.
Have fun.